


Alternia University

by RoSH (RoSH95)



Series: Alternia University [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Reality Characters, Alternate Session, Alternate Universe, On Hiatus, Original Characters are Humanstuck Trolls, Other, Quadrant Confusion, Quadrant Vacillation, godtier, quadrants
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-01-26 19:51:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 63,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1700486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoSH95/pseuds/RoSH
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a glitch opens up a portal between worlds, and releases unimaginable horrors into their world, twelve friends must band together to embark on an epic and whimsical journey through a book they all love; Homestuck. </p><p>My name is Vantera Karson, and I am a Seer of Words.<br/>Vantera is cursed with the gift of foresight. She sees everything, expecially words. If she touches someone, their whole life is laid out in front of her like a book. She can't forget the words either. They torment her, telling her things she never wanted to know.</p><p>**ON HIATUS UNTIL FUTURE NOTICE** (feel free to comment any questions you may have or message me on tumblr at SunnyGold, thanks!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act 1: THE SEER OF WORDS

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't exactly Homestuck or Humanstuck. Its mainly about a group of college teenagers who love Homestuck and have personalities similar to those of a certain Homestuck character. And then Homestuck comes and fucks everything up. The OCs are basically alternate reality versions of the trolls. The main character is the Alternate reality version of Karkat. The alternate reality versions of Gamzee and Terezi also play a major roll in the story. Pretty much every Homestuck Character you can think of either makes an appearance or is mentioned in this story. The OC's names take the initials of their Troll counterpart and flip them. Ex: Karkat Vantas - KV = VK - Vantera Karson.
> 
> Anyways, I'm gonna shut up now and let you read!
> 
> E N J O Y !

**PROLOGUE**

_My name is Vantera Karson, and I am a Seer of Words._

Vantera is cursed with the gift of foresight. She sees everything, especially words. If she touches someone, their whole life is laid out in front of her like a book. She can't forget the words either. They torment her, telling her things she never wanted to know.

_My name is Makaera Gamek-Krome, and I am a Bard of Rage._

Makaera just wants to make music. He wants to sing and touch people with the words he sings. However, he is cursed with another personality; a hateful personality. A personality that he isn't sure if he can control.

_My name is Pyra Teraz, and I am a Knight of Mind._

A tragic accident took Pyra's sight, and now she is cursed with blindness. However, she can still see, and no one yet knows how.

_My name is Serka Vaight, and I am a Thief of Light._

Serka is a bitch with an unspeakable past. She wants to make up for her many mistakes, but she doesn't know how to apologize.

_My name is Ampro Enrique Roan, and I am a Prince of Hope._

Because he is of royal blood, Ampro believes he is above everyone else, even his freak of a cousin who is decended directly from the main branch.

_My name is Peix Fiona Roan, and I am a Witch of Life._

Peix is nothing like her brother and, despite her royal blood, she just wants peace.

_My name is Captor Soul, and I am a Mage of Doom._

Captor is a technilogical genius. He can hack any program in a second. However, when his skill becomes a curse, he doesn't think he can overcome it to save his friends.

_My name is Megida Aran, and I am a Maid of Time._

Megida hears voices in her head. They whisper in her ears and she just wants them to shut up.

_My name is Lezha Neptune, and I am a Rogue of Heart._

Lezha has always been small, and is treated like a child most of the time. She wants to show the world what she can do and prove that she is strong.

_My name is Zahhak Equinox, and I am a Heir of Void._

Zahhak is exceptionally strong, but he worries that his strength will hurt the people he means to protect.

_My name is Night Tauros, and I am a Page of Breath._

Confidence has never been Night's strong point, and when a tragic accident occurs that leaves him crippled, he has to struggle to find his voice.

_My name is Maryam Kyana, and I am a Slyph of Space._

Maryam just wants to finish college, settle down, and start a family. Yet, how can she do that when she's always bailing her friends out of trouble?!


	2. CHAPTER ONE: THE SEER OF WORDS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First chapter of Act 1! Act 1 chapters are written with Vantera's (Karkat's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on introducing the characters, world building, and setting up the story line. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my moirail, because he's the one who got me into homestuck in the first place :33
> 
> E N J O Y !

**CHAPTER ONE: THE SEER OF WORDS**

A young woman walked quickly across campus. She had short, boyish chocolate brown hair with caramel streaks in it. Her long bangs hung in her eyes, but she didn’t seem to mind. Her sharp, blueish purple eyes perceived everything around her, particularly the words she saw and heard. Her mind took the words and captchalogued them for later. A loose piece of paper slipped out of one of her notebooks and fluttered away in the wind. On the paper were these words;

_My name is Vantera Karson, and I am a Seer of Words._

The girl didn’t notice the piece of paper, but someone else did. A pale skinned hand reached up and plucked the paper out of the air, tucking it safely into another notebook as the owner of the hand trailed slowly after the girl.

This person was a young man with raven black hair that sat in a messy heap on his head. His bangs hung low over his eyes, hiding their royal purple color. He never walked quickly anywhere, and enjoyed spending time outside, admiring the miracles of life. The girl he was following often called him her human Gamzee. He often called her his miraculous Karkat.

The girl turned around, a scowl on her face.

“Hurry up, Fuckass,” she called back to him. “We’re gonna be late.”

“Awe, chill the motherfuck out, Vee,” he said in his typical sing-song voice. “We still got ten motherfucking minutes. That’s plenty of motherfucking time.”

The girl rolled her eyes and waited impatiently for him, her eyes flickering restlessly around. Anyone who didn’t know her would think she was nervous, but the girl was anything but. She was merely taking note of every word fluttering about in the air.

It was why she never walked slowly. She hated taking notice of every damn word.

Her friend sighed and sped up his walk, and they fell into a compromising stroll. He was walking much faster than he preferred and she was walking much slower. This was how it typically went as they walked to class.

The two friends had every class together, because the Gamzee boy never took any notes and would fail the class without Vantera’s help. Because of Vantera’s tendency to memorize and remember every word she saw and heard, she was incredibly smart.

Vantera and Gamzee slipped into the lecture hall with plenty of time to spare, and chose two seats near the back of the room. They always sat in back, because everyone else sat in the front. Vantera hated physical contact with anyone. Because of her curse, the instant her skin made contact with anyone else’s, she had their entire life laid out before her like a book. The way it began, and the way it would end. And then she could never look at that person the same again. Gamzee was like her bodyguard. He was the barrier that stood between her and the rest of the student body.

Gamzee was actually pretty well liked. No one knew about his tendency towards instability, because he never let them see. Vantera was the only one who had ever seen her best friend go insane.

Gamzee was into music, and he was even in his own band. Vantera wrote the lyrics for all of their songs, but nobody ever knew, because she didn’t boast about it. Gamzee played guitar, and his other best friend played bass. They had found a pair of twins who were really good at keyboard and drums, and together, they were the Dark Carnival. Gamzee’s favorite song was Welcome to the Dark Carnival, because that was the first one Vantera had written for them. It was the song that got them their name, and it was the song that made them famous.

He had tried to make Vantera take credit for the song, but she point blank refused. He stopped bugging her about taking credit for her work after that.

Gamzee put his headphones in and leaned back against the chair, shutting his eyes. As the professor started his lecture, Vantera took out her notebook and started to write. It looked almost like she was taking notes, but she was really just writing. She never took notes until after the lecture. Then, she wrote down the most important things for Gamzee to study. If she wrote the lecture word for word, Gamzee would never read it. Sometimes, she would even translate the notes into a song so that Gamzee could remember them easier.

Gamzee took out the piece of paper that had fallen out of Vantera’s notebook earlier. He smiled at the words and then wrote something down beneath them.

_My name is Makaera Gamek-Krome, and I am a Bard of Rage._

He then doodled two symbols on the page: one that looked like a serpentine ‘S’ and another that looked like a creepy clown face. He smiled at his drawing and then passed it to Vantera. She looked down at it and recognized it as a page from one of her notebooks. Gamzee was always catching her stray papers and then giving them back to her at random times, so this was nothing new for her.

This picture, however, made her smile. It had both of their names and symbols together on one page, and that was something magical to Vantera. Even though she called him names and treated him like shit, Makaera was her best friend, and she loved him with all her heart.

~

After class, they walked back to their dorm together, Vantera a little ways ahead of Makaera. They didn’t live together, but they might as well have. Makaera lived in the room right next to Vantera, and he was over in her room so much that he virtually lived there.

When they got to her room, Makaera flopped down on the couch and picked up his guitar that he had left there that morning. Vantera’s roommate was still in class, so they had the room to themselves. Vantera picked up a large book that was sitting on the floor, opened it, and began to read.

Whenever she wasn’t writing, Vantera was almost always reading. She loved books, because they were the only things she couldn’t absorb information from just by touching or glancing at them. She had to actually open them and turn the pages. Granted, she read them very quickly, because she saw all the words on the page in one glace, but she still had to read them.

“ _Welcome to the Carnival,_  
 _You’ll never want to leave._  
 _You can’t escape this evil hell._  
 _We’ve trapped you here, you see.”_

Makaera’s voice flooded the room as he began to play his favorite song. Vantera continued to read her book, but she heard every word that Makaera sang. She loved his voice. It was so unique, rising and falling in a whimsical manner.

“ _A clown with violent eyes;_  
 _A ride to touch the skies;_  
 _A mirror with evil glare;_  
 _A girl with deadpan stare._  
 _This is the Dark Carnival,_  
 _Where evil stalks you all._  
 _It haunts you in the dead of night;_  
 _It feeds upon your fright._

_Welcome to the Carnival,_   
_You’ll never want to leave._   
_You can’t escape this evil hell._   
_We’ve trapped you here, you see.”_

Vantera closed her eyes, listening to the song. All at once, it was as if the world had gone silent. She could still hear the words, but there was no more of the clutter that she often saw and heard from the rest of the world. It was just her in her head. Sweet, blissful silence.

She probably fell asleep for a while, because the next thing she knew, Vantera was laying on the couch, her head on Makaera’s abdomen, and he was petting her hair, running his fingers threw it. Makaera was the only one who Vantera could stand physical contact with. When he touched her, his whole life was still laid out for her like a book, but it was a book that Gamzee had written, and it made no sense. It was as if pages had been ripped out of the book and purple ink had been smeared all over the pages. There wasn’t even an end because the whole back of the book had been torn away and thrown god knows where. It was completely unlike contact with any other human, and that was why Vantera tolerated it.

The gentle tugging on her hair was slightly rhythmic, and it was very soothing. Vantera’s eyes fluttered closed again. This time, there was no music to fill her ears, just the gentle hum of the TV and Makaera’s steady breathing.

Vantera hadn’t realized how tired she was. When was the last time she had slept? She couldn’t remember. There were dark circles under her eyes, looking like bruises against her pale skin.

“You motherfucking purr in your sleep,” Makaera said.

“Do I?” Vantera mumbled softly.

“Yeah,” he said. “It sounds sort of like this.”

Makaera made a rumbling, humming sound in the back of his throat that sounded exactly like a cat purring. It made his abdomen vibrate gently beneath Vantera’s head, only adding to the comfort she was feeling.

Despite how comfortable and sleepy she was, Vantera opened one eye to peer up at Makaera. He was grinning down at her, his purple eyes visible beneath his raven bangs.

“You sound like a motherfucking cat,” he continued. “It’s motherfucking adorable.”

“Adorable?” Vantera scoffed. “More like adorabloodthirsty.”

Makaera laughed, and Vantera couldn’t help the small twitch that lifted the corners of her lips into a tiny smile. This sent Makaera into another fit of giggles that made Vantera’s smile just a little bit bigger. She almost never smiled, and so Makaera considered it a beautiful miracle when she did.

Vantera rubbed her eyes, realizing that she had fallen asleep with her contacts in. Now her eyes were sore and itchy. Despite the fact that she really didn’t want to move, she got up and moved to take her contacts out.

“Goddamn, fucking contacts,” she muttered as she took out the little contact case and cleaner.

Makaera watched her curiously. He almost never saw her without her contacts in, and she always wore a pair of shades when she wasn’t wearing contacts, so it was just as much a miracle to see her true eye color as it was to see her smile. Vantera’s eyes were extremely sensitive to the light, so she had to wear dark blue, tinted contacts or sunglasses to protect them.

Vantera carefully took her contacts out and put them away. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden brightness of the room.

“Makaera?” She said tentatively.

Makaera got up and turned the knob on the wall. Their friend, Captor, had installed it so lights in Vantera’s room would take on the appearance of when she was wearing her contacts. It wasn’t so dark that normal people couldn’t see, but it was dark enough so that it wouldn’t hurt her eyes.

Vantera opened her eyes and turned around, letting out a sigh of relief when the light didn’t burn her eyes. Looking at her, Makaera could see his best friend’s beautiful red eyes, shining brightly in the dim lighting. He loved her eyes, but she hated them.

Makaera took a step towards her and his long legs closed the distance between them easily. He put a hand on her cheek and tilted her face upwards so he could look into her eyes. He towered over her by at least a foot.

“Your eyes are so motherfucking beautiful,” he said softly. “I wish you didn’t have to motherfucking hide them.”

Vantera rolled her eyes.

“Can you imagine what people’s reactions would be if they saw my true eye color?” she asked. “They would think I’m even more of a freak than they already do.”

Makaera frowned down at her.

“People think you’re a freak?”

Vantera sighed. She hadn’t meant to say that. Makaera never noticed the looks people gave her or heard the words they said and wrote about her, but she did. They all called her an emo bitch.

Vantera supposed she deserved the name. She was a bitch to everyone, and she was a bit of a goth. She wore black and white striped arm warmers, black and grey striped shirts, black pants, and black lace up boots. The only bit of color on any of her clothes was the small, red Cancer symbol that she wore on all of her shirts.

Makaera was also a bit of a goth, with his weird clown makeup. He always wore a purple t-shirt and a black zip up hoodie with a big, purple Capricorn symbol in the middle and the sleeves rolled up, displaying the tattoos on his right arm. However, Makaera was always happy and smiling, and he was nice to everyone, whereas Vantera was always angry and scowling, and a real bitch to everyone.

“Vantera,” Makaera said, his fingers digging into her shoulders, “what pieces of shit lowbloods call you a motherfucking freak?”

Vantera could see the barely controlled rage in his face now, and it scared her. She was the only one who could deal with him when he was like this, but it still scared her to death. Any second, he could overpower her and kill her. It was not a safe job.

“Makaera…?” Vantera managed to squeak out.

“Tell me, Vantera,” he commanded, his voice becoming a growl. “ _Who?_ ”

“Makaera!” she gasped. “Makaera, please… please, calm down.”

Makaera was beyond reason though and his eyes showed it.

“WHO??” he roared in terrifying anger.

Vantera wanted nothing more than to yank herself out of his too tight grip and hide herself in the corner, where she knew he couldn’t get to her. She was so terrified. However, she swallowed her fear and wrapped her tiny arms around his thin waist, pressing her face—now stained with blood red tears—into his chest. Vantera dug her nails into his back, hugging him as though her life depended on it. Makaera was screaming now, screaming with rage. She could imagine his painted face twisting gruesomely and his unnaturally pointed teeth showing as he opened his mouth wide and roared.

“Hush,” Vantera said, tracing his symbol on his back over and over again with her fingers. “Be still, angered one. Be calm; be gentle; be free.”

Slowly, Makaera quieted. His breaths came out in ragged growls and he made noises like a wild animal, but the familiar pattern being drawn on his back, and the words being spoken in his ear were comforting to him.

“Don’t let the voices control you,” Vantera said. “You’re stronger than them. Hush. Be still, angered one. Be calm; be gentle; be free.”

Slowly, Makaera’s arms enfolded the tiny girl that was holding him. His growls subsided into a purr, and he fell into a gentle sleep.

Despite the fact that he was twice her size, Vantera was able to hold Makaera up quite easily when he fell limp in her arms. She gently navigated him to the couch and laid him down. The royal purple throw blanket that was draped over the back of the couch was there for times like these, when Makaera slept over in Vantera’s room.

“Good night, my little Gamzee,” she said, kissing his forehead.

The skin to skin contact revealed again the book that always came. This time, however, there was something new. A single page, obviously from a later part in the book, fluttered down to take its place at the end of what was visible. The words were written in gold ink, a new color that Vantera had never seen in Makaera’s book before.

_“One day she smiled up at him, something that he considered rare, and beautiful, and, yes, miraculous. Makaera leaned down and kissed her, because there was nothing else to do.”_

Vantera pulled away and the book vanished. She looked down at Makaera, sleeping peacefully, and wondered who the page was about. In her heart, though, she already knew.

~

Makaera woke up late in the morning, and for the first few minutes, he had no recollection of the night before at all. He laid there, wondering why he was still in Vantera’s room, and suddenly it hit him like a book being thrown full force at the back of his head—he would know the feeling. Vantera was known to throw books during her own fits of rage.

Makaera sat up with a start, the purple blanket falling off of him. He looked around at the small cubby where Vantera’s desk was situated under her lofted bed.

Vantera was sitting there, tapping away at her laptop, a coffee in her hand.

“Morning, shithead,” Vantera said softly, not looking away from her computer.

“Hey! Look who’s finally up!” another voice crowed, and Makaera looked up to see Vantera’s roommate, Pyra, peering down at him from her lofted bed.

Pyra was wearing bright red sunglasses that hid her grey colored eyes. Pyra was blind, which was why it worked so well for her and Vantera to be roommates. She still got around as easily as if she could see, though, and nobody was really sure how she did it.

She hated Makaera with a passion, and Makaera hated her right back. The funny thing was, even though they hated each other, they often shared friendly and intimate moments like these that left the viewer extremely confused. It was a love-hate relationship.

Pyra hopped down from her bed onto the couch, narrowly avoiding landing on Makaera. Her reddish brown hair hung down to her shoulders where it curled slightly at the tips. She was wearing a red t-shirt with a teal long sleeved shirt underneath. Her jeans were low-cut and hung loosely on her hips.

From her spot on the couch, Pyra pointed to the bulletin board hanging on the wall by their heads.

“Check out what me and Tera did,” she said with a grin.

“Leave me out of it,” Vantera said in an uninterested tone. “You know full well that I didn’t do anything.”

“You didn’t stop me!” Pyra retorted.

She and Vantera continued their friendly banter, but Makaera turned his eyes to the bulletin board. A new paper was pinned to it, among the many pictures of their friends. It was the same paper that had fallen out of Vantera’s notebook the day before. Now, there was another line added to it, below the picture of Makaera’s Bard of Rage symbol.

_My name is Pyra Teraz, and I am a Knight of Mind._

Below that was a picture of Pyra’s symbol. It was colored in to be teal, and it appeared she had colored Makaera’s symbol purple and Vantera’s red. Makaera smiled faintly. There was a lot of space left on the page. He wondered if they could fit all their friends on there.

“So what do you think?” Pyra asked eagerly

Makaera grinned at her.

“I was thinking we should all up an’ motherfucking get all our friends to motherfucking write on it,” he said.

Pyra squealed and jumped off the couch, doing some sort of happy dance.

“See! _See!_ Maka thinks so too!!” she shouted joyfully at Vantera.

Vantera gave them both a grumpy glare before returning to whatever she was doing on her computer.

Pyra was now dancing with one of her hand sewn stuffed dragons. This one was a white one with red eyes, and it was Pyra’s favorite. Makaera remembered how he had once stolen it and hung it with a rope out his window. Pyra had been furious.

“Holy _shit_ …” Vantera suddenly said, staring at her computer screen with wide eyes.

“What?” Makaera and Pyra said in unison, much to their dislike.

“ _Holy motherfucking SHIT!_ ” was Vantera’s only reply.

“ _What?_ ” Makaera pressed.

Vantera finally turned to look at them.

“You are _exactly_ like Gamzee,” she said to Makaera.

“What do you all up an’ motherfucking mean?” Makaera asked, confused.

Of course he was like Gamzee. Gamzee was the silly, lighthearted clown of the group who was always high on faygo and sopor. That was Makaera, only he was always high on faygo and weed.

Vantera only shook her head and turned back to the screen.

“Vantera…?” Makaera asked.

“Keep reading Homestuck,” Vantera told him, not turning away. “You’ll find out.”

Makaera groaned.

“Why can’t you just motherfucking tell me?”

“It’s something you just gotta see for yourself, shithead,” Vantera replied.

“What part are you at?” Pyra asked curiously.

“I’m lost somewhere in the fucking chaos of Act Five, Act Two,” Vantera said.

“Ooh I’m just starting Act Five, Act Two,” Pyra said with excitement.

She promptly opened up her laptop and dove straight into the interactive comic, and was soon lost in it, leaning close to the screen as though it would help her see better, even though she was blind as a bat. Makaera thought she might have figured out how to see the way Terezi did, because it sure seemed like it.

Makaera sighed. He really wanted to get out his laptop and read Homestuck so he could find out what Vantera was talking about. He had gotten so far behind the rest of the group these past few months, mainly because he had been practicing a new song with his band. He had no idea how Vantera was able to keep up with all their homework and still have time to read Homestuck. He didn’t even have time to do homework!

There was no point in getting out his laptop now, because he and Vantera would be leaving for their first class soon. This one was an Art class, and it was their earliest class of all of them, starting at one forty and going until two forty. Their latest class was also today, starting at four ten and going until five ten. Makaera and Vantera were practically nocturnal, so they always scheduled their classes in the afternoons.

Art was both Vantera and Makaera’s favorite class. Vantera liked it because it lacked words. Makaera liked it because there weren’t any dates or times or names he had to memorize. He was also an extremely talented artist, so that only added to his enthusiasm.

Vantera glanced at the clock.

“We better get going,” she said, closing her laptop with a snap and packing it away in her book bag.

She gathered up a bundle of notebooks in her arms and slipped her shoes on.

Makaera swung his long legs off the couch, stood up, and stretched. There was a mirror on the wall opposite him, and he grimaced at his reflection. His black eyeliner was smeared around his eyes, giving him a slightly deranged clown look. His white cover-up had been rubbed off the night before and his scar was easily visible. Running from his left eyebrow to his right jaw, was a single scar.

He had gotten it when he was really young. His father was in one of his own fits of insanity, and Makaera had just been in the way. His father grabbed a kitchen knife off the counter and cut Makaera’s face open with it, laughing maniacally as he did. Makaera had fled the house in a blind panic, and somehow he ended up on Vantera’s doorstep.

Vantera had opened the door, taken one look at Makaera’s blood streamed face and screamed for her dad. Vantera’s dad had taken him to the hospital where the doctor’s stitched up his face. By the time morning had come, Makaera’s father was sitting in an insane asylum, and Makaera was scheduled to live in a foster home.

Vantera had remained his best friend through that period though. She didn’t care that his face was mutilated by a hideous gash. She had still cared about him.

 The skin didn’t protrude anymore, because it was a very old scar, so it was fairly easy to hide with makeup. Now, however, there wasn’t time to run back to his room and reapply makeup, and Makaera didn’t like the idea of going out in public with his scar showing.

However, Vantera seemed to have read his mind, for suddenly she was there, gently smearing the white and gray paint over his face. When she pulled away, Makaera saw the grinning white and gray clown face he had adopted, staring back at him in the mirror. He smiled at his reflection, and the painted smiled twisted creepily. Makaera loved his Gamzee makeup.

“Let’s go, fuckass,” Vantera said, speeding out the door without bothering to wait for him.

Makaera grabbed his iPod and stuffed it in his pocket before departing the room after Vantera.

~

“Hey, Vee?” Makaera asked, making her look up from her notebook, where she was busily writing something.

“What?” Vantera snapped in an irritable tone.

They were sitting in art class. Vantera was writing in her notebook, as usual, while Makaera was painting her. She usually ended up being his model, because she sucked at drawing. Unfortunately, this didn’t help her pass the class. Vantera had ended up dropping it, but she still came with Makaera anyways.

“Do you ever motherfucking wonder what we’re motherfucking doing here?” Makaera asked, not taking his eyes off his painting.

Vantera glared at him over the top of her notebook.

“We’re going to class to get a fucking education, shithead,” she snapped.

“No, I mean… why are we _here_? On earth? What’s our motherfucking purpose?”

“Man, I don’t fucking know,” Vantera said, sounding exasperated. “Why do you always ask me these things, fuckass? I don’t know the mysteries of the universe.”

“Well, what do you motherfucking think?” Makaera asked, meeting her eyes over the top of the canvas. “Don’t you have a motherfucking opinion?”

Vantera was silent for a moment, and Makaera could see the she was thinking pretty hard. The irritated expression that she always made sure to have on her face and smoothed into calm contemplation. She idly tapped her pencil against the side of her face.

After a long silence, she said, “I think someone is messing with us. They put us here on earth just to see what we would do. It’s nothing but a fucking game.”

The irritable glare was back.

Makaera sighed. He had figured she might say something like that.

“Alright, bro,” he said, accidentally letting the masculine word slip out.

When he realized his mistake, he glanced up at Vantera again, expecting to see a frown, but she just looked curiously shocked.

Then, the corners of her lips twitched into an almost smile and Makaera knew they were okay.

He went back to painting.

After another long silence, Vantera spoke again.

“You can call me ‘bro’ if you want, shithead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what did you think? I really like this last scene between Makaera and Vantera, kaz its just really true to the characters of Karkat and Gamzee :33 I'm also really loving Pyra. she's turning out to be quite the character! Got any predictions for what happens next? Next chapter will introduce Makaera's band :33


	3. CHAPTER TWO: THE DARK CARNIVAL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1 chapters are written with Vantera's (Karkat's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on introducing the characters, world building, and setting up the story line. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay chapter two! I'm having so much fun writing this story :33 
> 
> E N J O Y !

**CHAPTER TWO: THE DARK CARNIVAL**

At a quarter to six, Makaera and Vantera found themselves standing at the door of their friend’s apartment. Makaera came here almost every day for band practice, and Vantera usually came along. She actually enjoyed coming to band practice, even though she acted indifferent. It made her feel included.

The door was flung open to reveal Serka Vaight, Makaera’s creepy friend, wearing her typical grey trench coat, jeans, and t-shirt. Her night blue Scorpio sign was visible on her shirt. Serka was a really good base guitarist, even if she was a bit of a bitch. She was also a bit of a spotlight stealer, but Makaera didn’t mind that.

“Welcome to the Dark Carnival!” Serka greeted them in her usual fashion before standing aside to let them in.

As they passed, Vantera got a good look of Serka’s weird as fuck, seven pupiled contact. She didn’t know what Serka saw in spiders, but it was a good look for her. Serka was a creepy little bitch, and she shared that commonality with spiders.

Standing behind Serka, looking really irked that she had opened the door in _his_ home, was Ampro Roan. He was dressed in his usual hipster attire, consisting of purple pinstriped skinny jeans, a black long sleeved shirt, and a purple striped scarf. He had a purple streak in his jet black hair and a pair of hipster glasses over his eyes. A perpetually haughty look was plastered on his face.

Of all their friends, Vantera definitely hated Ampro the most. She said that about everyone, but with Ampro, she meant it.

As they passed Ampro and moved towards the loft where they had band practice, Vantera and Makaera heard the sound of Peix’s keyboard. She was playing one of the sonatas as a warm up.

Peix was Ampro’s twin sister and, even though they looked a lot alike, they really weren’t. While Ampro was haughty and had an ego the size of Texas, Peix was a total sweetheart. She got along with everyone and did her best to make everyone happy. She was something of the glue that held their strange group of friends together.

When Vantera and Makaera entered the room, Peix looked up at them and beamed. Vantera scowled, but Makaera beamed right back at their friend.

“Hi, Tera! Hi, Maka!” Peix said.

Vantera grunted at her and Makaera went over to hug her, probably to make up for Vantera’s irritability. Ampro narrowed his eyes at the exchange, but didn’t say anything. Serka just sat down on her amp and started tuning her guitar. Her long, curly, blue-black hair was pulled into a ponytail to keep it out of her face.

“So what’s new?” Peix asked, turning to Makaera. “You said you had something to show us earlier.”

Vantera glanced at Makaera in confusion. He must have sent Peix a text without showing her, because otherwise she would have remembered it.

Makaera grinned and pulled a piece of paper out of his guitar case.

Vantera groaned internally and rolled her eyes. It was that same piece of paper that she, Makaera, and, as of that morning, Pyra had signed with their names, titles, and symbols.

Serka snatched the paper out of Makaera’s hand almost as soon as he had it out of his bag and read it over quickly.

She grinned when she got to the end.

“Are we starting a cult or something, Maka?” she asked teasingly.

Makaera shrugged, but didn’t reply.

Serka grabbed her pen out of her own back pack and quickly scrawled the following line in blue ink.

_My Name is Serka Vaight, and I am a Thief of Light._

She drew her symbol underneath, and then passed the paper to Ampro, who was already waiting with his own magenta pen uncapped.

_My name is Ampro Enrique Roan, and I am a Prince of Hope._

Once his own symbol was added, Ampro turned the paper over to Peix, who was still digging in her bag for a pink pen.

_My name is Peix Fiona Roan, and I am a Witch of Life._

With their names added, Makaera took the paper back and tucked it carefully back into his guitar bag. As he did so, Ampro turned to Vantera.

“So, do you have any new songs for us to practice?” Ampro asked in a sneering tone.

He really did like Vantera’s songs, but he would never admit it to her.

“Actually, yes,” Vantera said, pulling out a notebook of songs she had written.

She flipped through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. She laid it out on the table and the rest of them gathered around to see.

“Looks kinda complicated,” Serka noted with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

Vantera had no doubt that Serka would rise spectacularly to the challenge of learning this song.

“It is,” said Vantera. “I’ve got an idea of what the melody will be, but everything else is up to you.”

Sometimes, when she wrote songs, Vantera would figure out a few chords to go along with the melody. Most of the time she at least wrote out where the beats should be for the drum and what the tempo and meter was. This time, she had left them with little to nothing.

“Well..?” Peix said, looking expectantly at Vantera.

“What?” Vantera asked.

“Aren’t you going to sing for us?” Peix said with a mischievous smile. “So we can hear what the melody sounds like?”

Vantera scowled at her.

“You know full well that I don’t sing,” she snapped.

“Then how are we supposed to know the motherfucking melody?” Makaera asked. “C’mon, bro. It’s just us. We’re not gonna all up an’ motherfucking judge you.”

“Well, _I_ will,” Ampro sneered.

Vantera sighed angrily.

“Fine,” she huffed, and picked up the paper.

She tried to ignore Makaera, Peix, and Serka’s eager eyes on her as she began to sing.

_“The heavens quake_   
_And the angels shake._   
_The raindrops fall down_   
_In an endless pattern._   
_The night…_   
_Closes in._   
_Then you’re left in the dark_   
_With all of your sin._

_It’s a thunder storm;_   
_Raging through the night sky._   
_It’s a thunder storm;_   
_Lightning its only light._   
_It’s a thunder storm.”_

Vantera hadn’t sung the whole song, but what she had was enough to show what the melody would be. When the last note faded away, Vantera looked up at her friends, a scowl on her face.

Makaera was smiling widely, Peix was on the brink of bursting into applause, Ampro was trying and failing not to look interested, and Serka was already fingering the chords on an imaginary guitar.

“I motherfucking like it,” said Makaera.

“Me too!” Peix squealed excitedly.

Serka nodded absentmindedly and said, “Yeah, I can figure something out. Nice work, Tera.”

Ampro shrugged and said, “It was alright, I guess.”

And with that, the group went to work. The music flooded Vantera’s mind and pushed out all the other words crowding for her attention. She sat on the couch and leaned back against it, shutting her eyes against the world.

Sweet, blissful, silence.

~

When Band practice was over, Makaera looked over at Vantera and was hardly surprised to see that she was out cold. She hadn’t been sleeping enough lately, and he knew she was really tired.

Makaera packed up his guitar and slung it over his shoulder so he could have both arms free to carry Vantera. He lifted her off the couch as gently as he could, trying not to wake her up. He nodded swiftly to his friends and then carried Vantera out to his truck.

As he was buckling her seatbelt, Vantera stirred, mumbling something sleepily.

“It’s just me, go back to sleep, bro,” Makaera assured her, and she did.

She slept through the entire car ride back to campus, but as soon as Makaera walked into the dorm building with her in his arms, the sudden noise and words shocked her back into the waking world.

Vantera rubbed her eyes and yawned sleepily.

“Shit, what time is it?” she asked blearily.

“About nine,” Makaera replied. “I just fucking let you sleep on the motherfucking way back to campus, ‘cause you really need the motherfucking sleep.”

“Thanks, fuckass,” Vantera mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.

Makaera didn’t reply, but proceeded to carry her up four flights of stairs to their floor. He didn’t mind carrying her. She was so light that it was just like carrying an extra guitar.

He opened the door to her room with his foot and slipped inside.

Pyra was gone, presumably at work or somewhere else on campus, so they had the room to themselves.

Makaera leaned his guitar against one end of the couch and then sat down on the other end, propping one of his long legs up on the couch. His legs were so long that it took up almost the entire length of the couch.

As he was still holding Vantera, she ended up sitting between Makaera’s legs, laying on his chest with her head on his shoulder. While she slept, Makaera flipped through the channels on the TV, looking for something to watch.

“Hey, Makaera?” Vantera said, startling him.

He hadn’t heard her stir.

“What’s up, bro?” he asked.

Vantera didn’t reply for a minute.

Makaera was beginning to wonder if she had fallen asleep again.

“If I tell you something, you gotta promise not to fucking laugh, shithead,” Vantera finally said.

Makaera looked down into her face to see that she was glaring at him.

“I promise I won’t motherfucking laugh, bro,” he said.

Vantera sighed and looked away. She bit her lip and fiddled with her fingers idly.

“I don’t know where to fucking start,” she finally said. “This shit is so fucking hard to explain. Hell, it’s hard to fucking talk about it.”

Makaera waited patiently.

“I… damnit, I don’t feel like a girl!” Vantera suddenly spat out.

Makaera looked down at her and was surprised to see tears in her eyes. She looked really confused and upset and… confused. Makaera wondered how long this had been bothering her. It broke his heart to think that something had been troubling her and she hadn’t told him about it.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I don’t feel like a fucking girl,” Vantera repeated irritably. “I never have. I’ve always felt like a fucking boy. I just… I don’t fucking think I wanna be a girl anymore.”

“So then don’t,” Makaera said, wondering why it was bothering his best friend so much. If she didn’t wanna be a girl, then who was he to say she couldn’t be a boy?

“Jegus fuck, it’s not that simple, fuckass,” Vantera snapped. “If I start going by ‘he’ instead of ‘she,’ people will look at me funny. Plus that, and then they’ll start assuming that I’m fucking homosexual, which I don’t think I am. I mean, hell, for all I know, I could be, but as far as I know, I’m not. I’m not attracted to girls. Then again, I’m not really sure if I’m attracted to guys either. Gah, I’m so fucking confused. What does this make me?”

“It makes you motherfucking confused,” Makaera replied.

“You know what I mean, shithead,” Vantera grumbled.

“Shit, bro, I don’t know what to motherfucking tell you,” Makaera sighed. “It’s not like I all up an’ know anything about this motherfucking bullshit. It’s just one of those motherfucking miracles, ya know?”

Vantera sighed and rolled over, wrapping her arms around Makaera’s middle and burying her face in his chest. She breathed in the scent of him, trying to find her way past the smell of weed and to the core of Makaera. It made her feel just a little bit better to be there with him.

Makaera gently rubbed her back, drawing her symbol on her back over and over. He wondered for a minute what would happen if Vantera decided to become a boy, then shook the thought out of his head. Vantera would still be Vantera, even if she was a ‘he’ instead of a ‘she.’ It wouldn’t change anything about her, and it sure as hell wouldn’t change how he felt about her.

“Makaera?” Vantera said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

“Yeah, bro?” Makaera replied.

“Would you… do you think you could just start calling me ‘Karkat’ from now on?” she asked. “Just between us.”

Vantera wasn’t sure why she had chosen Karkat for her new name, but she felt as though she related to him, more so than the other trolls.

“Sure, bro,” Makaera said with an easy smile. “It don’t motherfucking matter to me whether you’re a fucking boy or a girl. You’re still you, and I motherfucking like you for you.”

Vantera, or Karkat as she was now going by, gave Makaera a small smile in return, and then laid her head back on his chest, closing her eyes.

Makaera would stand by her no matter what, and she was grateful for that. She knew she was going to need someone to support her when and if she finally decided to make the change official.

~

When Pyra returned to the dorm room, she was not surprised to find Makaera passed out on the couch with Vantera in his lap. It didn’t seem as though anything had happened between them, but Pyra thought she could sense something different. Something had changed between them, and their relationship didn’t seem quite as pale as it had before.

Pyra grinned at this tiny revelation. She had been telling Vantera that her feelings were totally flushed for Makaera since the beginning. Vantera hadn’t listened and Pyra had been disappointed to find them in a moirallegiance with each other.

Now, however, it appeared that the relationship was finally changing. After seven years of moirallegiance, it seemed that the relationship was finally—albeit slowly—turning to matespritship.

Pyra didn’t dare get too excited about it, however, because she knew how easily things could change. Besides that, if she made any indication that she knew, it might just push them farther into moirallegiance as opposed to matespritship, and that was not something she wanted to do. Pyra knew she wasn’t the one who should be handling the situation anyways. Vantera had always been the best when it came to relationship advice. However, next to her, Maryam or Lezha was probably the next best. She made a note to ask Lezha next time they talked.

Pyra crawled into bed with her laptop, deciding that she should read some more Homestuck before turning in for the night. She had just gotten to the part that she assumed Vantera had been talking about that morning and was pretty interested in what would happen next.

She loaded her progress to “Seek the Highb100d” and began to play the mini-adventure game that started. She always really liked these. She often went back to them so she could replay them because they were just so much fun.

However, by the end of “Seek the Highb100d,” Pyra was pretty disturbed. Gamzee had gone absolutely bat-shit, motherfucking crazy. He had killed Equius by strangling him with a broken bow, and she was pretty sure Nepeta was a goner too. Zahhak and Lezha would be so disappointed. Equius and Nepeta were their respective “patron trolls.” Pyra was glad her own troll wasn’t dead yet. It would be pretty sad if Terezi died.

 Pyra kept reading up until the end of “Attempt rare and highly dangerous 5x SHOWDOWN COMBO”. After that, Pyra felt that she had had enough excitement for the day and decided to go to bed. Hopefully she wouldn’t have nightmares about Gamzee or Makaera going crazy and killing everyone. That would definitely put a damper on the night.

~

Somehow, Makaera slept better that night than he had in a long time. He wasn’t sure, but he thought it must have something to do with the fact that Vantera had ended up sleeping in his arms.

When Makaera woke up that morning, he discovered that Vantera was still passed out in his arms, something that was extremely rare. Vantera was _always_ up before Makaera.

Makaera was reluctant to move and wake his friend. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. Her constant scowl went away when she was sleeping and made her look just like a normal person. Makaera smiled down at his best friend. Vantera might have been a bitch, and she may have called him so many unkind names that they almost felt more like his name than his real one, but she was still his best friend, and she had a very special place in his heart.

Makaera was fully prepared to lay there until Vantera woke up, however long that would take, but it turned out to be a shorter wait then he anticipated. After less than ten minutes, something happened that could have woken the dead.

The door to the dorm room was flung open and in walked Pyra with an enormous dog.

“Hey, guys, guess what I got!” Pyra yelled.

If that didn’t wake Vantera up, then the dog’s extremely loud bark certainly did.

Vantera gave a startled yelp, and sat up so fast she fell off the couch. The large dog sniffed her and, deciding she wasn’t a threat, licked her face.

“Eww!” Vantera cried, shrinking away from the dog and sitting up against the couch.

“Er… Py? Whatcha motherfucking got there?” Makaera asked, staring at the dog.

“Isn’t she _gorgeous_?” Pyra gushed, scratching the dog’s ears fondly.

Vantera couldn’t say she agreed. The dog wasn’t very pretty at all. It was an albino Great Dane, with snow white fur and reddish colored eyes. Also, it was _huge_. Its head came up to Pyra’s shoulder when it was just standing on all fours. Vantera couldn’t remember ever seeing a dog nearly that big before, even in Great Danes.

“It’s _huge_!” Vantera cried.

“I _know_!” Pyra giggled excitedly. “No one else would take her—I can’t imagine _why_ —she’s already been trained to be a disability help dog and everything!! I got her for a really good price too! Only one hundred dollars for a _purebred_ Great Dane!”

“Pyra… where is she going to live?” Vantera asked, getting to her feet.

“With us, of course!” Pyra laughed.

Vantera rubbed her forehead and sighed.

“Pyra, in case you didn’t notice,” Vantera said, “we live in a fucking dorm room that’s barely big enough to house the two of us. How the fuck are we going to house a dog that’s practically the size of both of us _combined_?”

“Oh, I’ve already taken care of that,” Pyra said, waving it away. “The university is going to set us up in one of the on campus apartments. I’ve already gone to see it—well, not _see_ it, but you know what I mean—and it’s huge! We each get our own bedroom, plus there’s a living room and kitchen! Our rooms are pretty nice too, almost as big as this room!

“Captor is already over there installing his little doohingy on the lights, so we can go over there in a jiffy and you can check the place out. It even comes with furniture! We each get a really nice bed, drawers, desk, and chair! There’s a few cabinets in the living room where we can put the TV. Both our rooms have their own closet and they’re way bigger than the wardrobes our rooms come with. We even get our own bathroom! Can you imagine? We’ll never have to wait for a shower again!”

Vantera just gaped at Pyra through the whole speech.

Thinking it over, she supposed it would probably be really nice to stay in an apartment instead of the dorm, but what would it mean for Makaera?

“Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that there’s no supervision,” Pyra added, “so Makaera can stay over as much as he wants! You could _actually_ live with us if you wanted to!”

Makaera thought that sounded pretty cool, and was really excited to go check the place out. He didn’t like his roommate very much, which was why he usually crashed in Vantera’s room. He imagined his roommate would be thrilled to have him out of the dorm.

Makaera jumped off the couch, a grin on his face.

“What are we motherfucking waiting for then?” he asked. “Let’s go!”

He grabbed Vantera’s hand and dragged her out of the room after Pyra, who seemed just as excited as Makaera to go to the apartment. He was moving so uncharacteristically fast, that Vantera allowed herself to be dragged all the way out of the building before she really registered what was going on.

She was going to be living in an apartment with Pyra and Makaera as roommates, and a giant albino dog for a pet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you think? about Vantera's song? about her telling Makaera she wants to be a guy? speaking of which, what are you guy's opinions on that? its a really confusing thing that relies mostly on the opinion of the individual. I believe most people lable it as "queer". however, I'm wondering what we would call a GIRL who identifies as a GUY and is attracted to MEN. would that make her/him/whatever you call them gay? that's how I would interpret it, but what do you think?


	4. CHAPTER THREE: MOVIE NIGHT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1 chapters are written with Vantera's (Karkat's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on introducing the characters, world building, and setting up the story line. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter three! I know I'm posting these really fast, but its because I've already written all of Act 1 and Act 2 on Wattpad and I'm trying to get this story caught up to what I've written so far so that I'll be able to update both Wattpad and here at the same time! Also, I start pesterlogs this chapter. Does ANYONE know how to get the colors in there? HELP ME
> 
> E N J O Y !

**CHAPTER THREE: MOVIE NIGHT**

“Hey, guys,” Captor called from another room. “I’m almost finished. I just got Tera’s room after this.”

He was in the bathroom, installing a little nob where the light switch usually would be, so that Vantera could dim the lights when needed.

“Woah…” Vantera said, walking into the living room.

It was about the size of their dorm room, and an open archway on the right side of the room led into the kitchen, which was a little smaller with a table on one side and three chairs by it. There was a little hallway branching off of the living room with three doors. The first door on the left side was the bathroom, where Captor was working on the lights. The second door on the left side was one of the bedrooms. On the other side of the hall was the door to the second bedroom.

“That’s your room,” Pyra said, pointing towards the door on the right side of the hall.

Vantera wandered into the room to find a full size bed pushed against the wall across from the door. Her desk was positioned under the window and the drawers were at the foot of her bed. The closet doors were standing open, revealing a very spacious closet.

Makaera stepped into the room after Vantera and went straight to the bed, flopping down on it.

“Its way more comfortable than our dorm beds,” he noted, grinning.

Vantera rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything.

Instead, she walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, testing out its comfyness for herself. Makaera reached out, wrapping an arm around Vantera’s waist and pulling her onto the bed with him. Vantera gave a cry at the initial shock of being yanked suddenly onto the bed and against Makaera’s chest.

Makaera smiled and nuzzled her shoulder.

“Stop it, fuckass!” Vantera protested. “You’re gonna smear your fucking makeup all over my clothes.”

Makaera paused, the realization hitting him like a book.

“I’m not wearing any makeup,” he said softly.

Vantera stopped struggling and immediately rolled over to look into his face. Sure enough, all of his makeup was gone, and his scar was clearly visible. Vantera bit her lip, trying to remember if she had seen anyone looking at them funny as they walked over, but she couldn’t think of anyone. Perhaps no one had noticed?

Makaera shook his head and smiled again.

“It doesn’t motherfucking matter,” he said, as if he had read Vantera’s thoughts.

Vantera could tell he was bothered by the fact that he had gone outside without his makeup on, but she didn’t press on it. She decided she would rather just enjoy the moment with him.

~

Two hours later, the group found themselves sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV. Pyra, Makaera, and Vantera had hauled all of Pyra and Vantera’s things over to the apartment and were now mostly moved in. They still had to get their clothes put away and make their beds, but other than that, they were all set.

After he had finished the lights in Vantera’s room, Captor had been wanting to leave, but Pyra cornered him with the sheet of paper she and Makaera were trying to get all of their friends to sign and made him sign it.

With his handwriting that looked like a computer text, Captor added his line to the page.

_My name is Captor Soul, and I am a Mage of Doom._

Now, he found himself squished between Pyra and Makaera, watching an episode of a show called Supernatural. It was actually quite good, in his opinion, but he wished that the special effects had been done better. It was so obvious that everything was fake.

Justice, as Pyra had decided to name her dog, was laying on the floor at their feet. Vantera had to admit that the beast was looking to be more attractive in a bigger room. She figured it had been the sudden appearance of the dog in her tiny dorm room that led her to think it was ugly.

Makaera had slung both his arms over the back of the couch, and one was dangling down to rest gently on Vantera’s shoulder.

“We should have a housewarming party,” Pyra said suddenly.

“What?” Vantera snapped, leaning forward to look at her friend on the other side of the couch.

“You know. A party to welcome us into the house,” Pyra said. “We could have all our friends over and order pizza and watch a movie. It would be totally awesome!”

Vantera smacked her forehead with her hand.

“If we invite _all_ our friends over, there’s gonna be twelve fucking people in this apartment,” Vantera growled. “How the fuck are we gonna fit twelve crazy lunatics in here and keep them all from killing each other, Fire Eyes?”

“Very carefully,” Pyra snickered. “Besides, I’m sure you can keep them in line. Everyone seems to listen to you for some reason.”

“That’s because it’s easier than listening to her bitch and complain about everything,” Captor said.

“Shut up, Captor,” Vantera snarled.

“All in favor of a party, raise your hand!” said Pyra.

She, Makaera, and Captor all put their hands in the air. Vantera crossed her arms and glared at them.

“Sorry, Tera! Majority rules!” Pyra giggled, jumping up to grab her cell phone.

~

Before Vantera knew it, people were arriving at the door, looking excited and ready to party. As they walked in, names were added to the list that Pyra held out for them at the door.

_My name is Megida Aran, and I am a Maid of Time._

Megida was the first to arrive. She had long, dark brown hair that looked like it had never been introduced to a hairbrush. Her reddish brown eyes were dull and lifeless, as always, though they lit up slightly when Captor kissed her. She wore a short black skirt that was frayed and torn at the bottom. She had a form fitting, black hoodie on that was zipped up halfway, showing a red tank top underneath. Her knee high socks were red and black striped.

Serka arrived next, wearing an orange plaid, button up t-shirt. She had left the top unbuttoned, showing off a blue tank top and lots of cleavage. Her blue jeans had holes in them and her shoes were ratty, but otherwise she looked kind of pretty for once.

_My name is Lezha Neptune, and I am a Rogue of Heart._

_My name is Zahhak Equinox, and I am a Heir of Void._

Lezha and Zahhak came next. Lezha was a tiny little girl—about the same height as Vantera—with a heart shaped face and adorable, olive green eyes framed by curly light brown hair. She was wearing a black tank top with a green jacket and a pair of baggy blue jeans. Her backpack was designed to look like a cat, and she was carrying a calico cat that she called Taco in it.

Zahhak was tall and buff, the biggest of all their friends. He was Makaera’s roommate and, even though Zahhak didn’t particularly like him, he was very polite. Zahhak was wearing a black tank top and grey sweatpants. He looked and smelled like he had just gotten back from the gym, which he probably had. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he was wearing his trademark, square shades, hiding his dark blue eyes.

_My name is Night Tauros, and I am a Page of Breath._

When Night rolled through the door, Serka came right over to help him roll his wheelchair over to the TV, teasing him all the way about his disability. Night had become paralyzed from the waist down a few years ago, due to a ski accident that Serka had been involved in. Helping him out, even if she did it while sounding mean and insincere, was her way of apologizing. Night had light brown hair that was styled in a Mohawk and warm, chocolate brown eyes. He stammered when he talked and blushed a lot.

_My name is Maryam Kyana, and I am a Slyph of Space._

Maryam was dressed in a black dress that showed off the black tattoo that twisted up both arms and across her back. Her short black hair had a bright green streak that was very stylish and complemented her green eyes. She looked over dressed for the event, but that was just her style.

Ampro and Peix were last to arrive, but they also had the farthest to travel. Ampro wore his usual hipster attire, while Peix had dressed in a pretty pink blouse and teal skirt. Her bright pink glasses were perched on her nose and she wore a bright and charming smile on her face.

By the time Ampro and Peix got to the apartment, the pizza had already arrived, and they quickly dug in. Ampro complained that he didn’t like supreme pizza, but Peix quieted him by saying, “Just pick off the stuff you don’t like.”

Pyra popped the movie in the DVD player and everyone settled down on the couch and floor to watch.

Vantera found herself sitting on the floor by Makaera, who pulled her into his lap and cuddled her once the movie started. Vantera pretended to be grumpy about it, but she really enjoyed the attention, and Makaera knew it.

The movie was called The Conjuring, and it was extremely scary. Night screamed a few times, and Lezha crawled into Zahhak’s lap for comfort. Megida laughed through all the scary parts, and Captor kept pointing out all the special effects to everyone until Makaera told him to “stop ruining all the motherfucking miracles.” Peix and Ampro screamed like little girls from their spot on the couch and ended up cuddling under the blanket, peering out at the screen from underneath it.

Vantera screamed the most of them, but she was mostly just screaming, “DON’T GO IN THE BASEMENT YOU STUPID SHIT!”, “DON’T TURN AROUND, FUCKASS, THE GHOST IS BEHIND YOU!”, and “DON’T GO IN THE GODAMN CLOSET YOU STUPID MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT THE FUCKING GHOST IS GONNA GET YOU!!!!!”

All in all, it was a pretty fun evening, and everyone managed to get along, much to Vantera’s pleasure. She hadn’t been looking forward to breaking up all the fights she had been anticipating.

By the time everyone left, Vantera was happy to crawl into bed and go to sleep. However, she was pretty scared after the movie. The apartment seemed so big in the dark compared to her dorm room, and Vantera would be sleeping alone in her room.

She took her time showering and getting ready for bed, taking more time to put away her contacts than she normally would. Looking at her own grey nightclothes, Vantera decided she needed more comfort that night, and snatched up Makaera’s black t-shirt from the floor. It was far too big for her, but Vantera didn’t care. It had Makaera’s scent fused into it, and Vantera hoped it would help her sleep.

Makaera was asleep on the couch, and Vantera considered asking him to sleep in her room, but she didn’t want to admit that she was scared. So she sucked it up and curled up under the covers, her back to the wall, and tried to go to sleep. However, every shadow looked like it could be hiding a ghost and Vantera’s sensitive eyes made everything look even stranger than normal.

By the time four o’clock rolled around, Vantera had panicked herself into such a fright that she practically jumped out of her skin when the door swung open.

“Calm down, bro,” Makaera laughed softly, crossing the room in three strides.

“Godamnit, fuckass, you scared the shit out of me!” Vantera hissed.

Makaera crawled into the bed next to her.

“I can’t motherfucking sleep,” he said.

“Me either,” Vantera admitted as they laid down.

“You don’t motherfucking mind, do you?” Makaera asked nervously. “I don’t think I can motherfucking sleep without holding on to a motherfucker.”

Vantera shook her head and rolled over so Makaera could pull her against his bare chest. A sense of sweet calm and exhaustion finally rolled over her and Vantera was out like a light.

Makaera watched her sleep peacefully for a moment, feeling his own sense of calm rolling over him. He hadn’t been scared of the dark, or the movie, but he still couldn’t sleep. It was as if he had felt Vantera’s own fear and knew that she needed him.

Makaera tightened his grip on Vantera, not so much that he would hurt or wake her, and closed his eyes. In a matter of minutes he found himself waking up in dreamland.

~

When Lezha got home that night, it was well after midnight, and she was out of breath from running the entire four blocks to her apartment.

‘That movie was really scary!’ Lezha thought as she sank to the floor. ‘I should have let Zahhak give me a ride.’

Zahhak had offered to give Lezha a ride home, but she had too much pride. She didn’t want to admit that the movie had scared her that much. On top of that, Zahhak and all her other friends were always trying to baby her.

Lezha certainly wasn’t the youngest of all her friends, but she was the shortest. It was natural that they all saw her as someone who needed protection.

Lezha didn’t mind it most of the time. She actually sort of liked the attention, but it did get on her nerves sometimes. She, after all, was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, thank you very much.

“ _Mreow,_ ” came the voice of Taco, who was still in Lezha’s bag.

Almost immediately, nine other cats came running out of the other rooms in Lezha’s apartment. Lezha laughed, feeling silly for being so scared a second earlier, and let Taco out of her bag. She then proceeded to kiss and nuzzle each and every one of her other nine cats, naming them as she went.

First was Snowball, female, a snow white Asian Semi-Longhair.

Second came Sai, male, a cream colored Birman with a black face.

Third was Leopard, male, an orange Bengal with dark brown spots.

Fourth was Colby, female, a blueish-grey British Longhair.

Fifth came Tinkerbell, female, a grey tabby Cyprus Cat with a white underbelly.

Sixth came Sphinx, female, a black Abyssinian.

Seventh was Mau, male, a grey Egyptian Mau with black spots.

Eighth came Munchkin, male, a tiny orange tabby Munchkin.

Ninth was Raggedy Ann, female, a cream colored Ragdoll with brown markings on her face and back.

Last, but certainly not least, was Taco, male, an orange and black calico Manx. He was, by far, Lezha’s favorite cat.

All of Lezha’s cats were strays that she had adopted from the local animal shelter where she worked. It was a lot of work taking care of them, but Lezha simply adored cats, and she was willing to put up with all their antics. Lezha even sometimes considered herself to be a cat.

“Lea? Honey, is that you?” Lezha’s mom’s voice came floating out of the den.

“Hi, Mom,” Lezha said, poking her head in the door on her way to her room.

“How was the party?” her mom asked without taking her eyes off the computer screen where she was studiously writing an article for the newspaper she worked for.

“It was fun,” Lezha replied cheerfully, “but I’m really tired so I’m gonna go to bed right away.”

“Okay, good night.”

Lezha stepped out of the den and walked down the hall to her own room. Her mother was always up when Lezha got home, because she didn’t have any set office hours. She could do her work whenever she wanted, as long as she got it done by the deadline. However, because of this, she didn’t always spend as much time with Lezha as she should have. Lezha didn’t mind, though. She loved her mom.

“ _Meow meow meow meow! Meow meow meow meow! Meowmeowmeowmeow MEOW! Meowmeowmeowmeow MEOW! Meow meow meow meow, meow-meow-meow!_ ” Lezha’s ringtone snapped her out of her thought process.

Checking her phone, she opened up her Pesterchum app to find a new message from Zahhak.

 

hoofbeastTamer [HT]  began pestering  kittensWrath [KW] 

HT: D--> Just checking too make sure you got home alright.

 

Lezha sighed and rolled her eyes, but really it made her happy. Zahhak was always doing things like this and, even though she knew he was only doing it because he thought she needed protecting, it made Lezha feel like he really cared about her.

 

KW: :33 > yea im ok 

HT: D--> Good. You should have let me give you a ride home.

KW: :33 > i am purrfectly capable of taking care of myself! 

HT: D--> I know you are. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying about you.  
HT: D--> I would never forgive myself if something bad happened to you.

KW: :33 > you know that nothing bad is efurr gonna happen to mew. i will just slice those bad guys KW: to smithereens with my claws! 

HT: D--> And that there is e%actly why I worry about you. You’re too impetuous.

KW: :33 > :(( awe thats no furr! 

HT: D--> What’s not fair about it?

KW: :33 > calling mew impetuous! you know i dont even know what impetuous means! 

HT: D--> Of course you know what impetuous means!  
HT: D--> It means to act or do things quickly and without care.  
HT: D--> Which is e%actly what you do.

KW: :((

kittensWrath [KW]  ceased pestering  hoofbeastTamer [HT] 

Lezha closed out of pesterchum and put her phone on her desk, resolving not to look at it again for the rest of the night. Even though she didn’t mind when Zahhak would message her to check up on her, she hated it when he called her impetuous or other forms of the word.

“Meow meow meow meow! Meow meow meow meow! Meowmeowmeowmeow MEOW! Meowmeowmeowmeow MEOW! Meow meow meow meow, meow-meow-meow!”

Lezha sighed in annoyance when her phone went off again. She reluctantly crawled off her bed and picked up the phone again. To her surprise, it was not Zahhak pestering her this time, but Pyra.

justiceScream [JS]  began pestering  kittensWrath [KW] 

JS: H3Y 1 GOTT4 4SK YOU 4 QU3ST1ON.

KW: :33 > sure! whats up? 

JS: 1 N33D SOM3 R3L4T1ONSH1P 4DV1C3

KW: :33 > ooh really ;)) who do you like js? 

JS: NOBODY! 1TS NOT FOR M3 1TS FOR T3R4

KW: :33 > tera? as in, grumpy karkat vantera? 

JS: TH4TS TH3 ON3!

KW: :33 > but tera is so good with relationship advice! why would she n33d advice? and why doesnt she KW: just ask mew herself? 

JS: B3C4US3 SH3S TOO STUP1D TO R34L1Z3 SH3S COMPL3T3LY FLUSH3D FOR M4K4  
JS: SH3 JUST N33DS 4 L1TTL3 NUDG3 1N TH3 R1GHT D1R3CT1ON

KW: :33 > i dunno js. wouldnt that be meddling? and dont you hate medley meddlesome meddlers? 

JS: OF COURS3 1TS M3DDL1NG! 4ND 1 ONLY H4T3 M3DL3Y M3DDL3SOM3 M3DDL3RS 1F TH3YR3 JUST B31NG M3DDL3SOM3 FOR TH3 S4K3 OF B31NG M3DDL3SOM3.  
JS: HOW3V3R, W3 4R3 M3DDL31NG TO BR1NG OUR TWO FR13NDS TOG3TH3R 4ND M4K3 TH3M H4PPY. TH4TS 4 GOOD K1ND OF M3DDL3ING! TH3 K1ND TH4T D3S3RV3S 4 M3D4L!

KW: :33 > oh! ok then! KW: :33 

JS: W3LL, F1RST OFF, HOW DO 1 G3T TH3M TOG3TH3R?  
JS: JUST TH3 OTH3R N1GHT 1 C4M3 B4CK TO TH3 DORM 4ND…  
JS: 1 DONT KNOW TH3Y JUST S33M3D L3SS P4L3 TH4N B3FOR3. 1 F1GUR3D NOW WOULD B3 TH3 B3ST T1M3 TO 4CT.

KW: :33 > ooh! i have an idea! 

JS: WH4T?

KW: :33 > t33h33 well you said it was when you came home that you felt things had changed right? KW: :33 

JS: OH 1 TH1NK 1 KNOW WH3R3 TH1S 1S GO1NG!

KW: :33 > right! i think the best way to get them together is to leave them alone together as often as pawsible! efurryone knows they are flushed furr each other already, so if we force them to be alone together then their feelings will do the rest! 

JS: H4V3 1 3V3R TOLD YOU TH4T YOU 4R3 4 G3N1OUS?

KW: :33 > *blushes* awe thanks js KW: :33 

JS: WH4T? WH4T 1S 1T?

KW: :33 > t33h33 well theres the concert tomorrow night furr the dark carnival… 

JS: Y34H…?

KW: :33 > were throwing an after purrty furr the band. you know how tera always stays home furr the concerts and maka feels bad so he always leaves right after the concert to go home and be with her. 

JS: GO ON

KW: :33 > wellll… heres what im purrposing. we all go to the after purrty, but maka goes home to tera. you can stay ofurr at my place furr the night and let them sort out their feelings :33 

JS: TH4T… 1S 4 GR34T 1D34.

KW: :33 > i do have them from time to time :3p 

JS: H4H4 >:]  
JS: W3LL 1 SHOULD G3T TO SL33P NOW. GOTT4 M4K3 SUR3 1 G3T UP 1N T1M3 FOR TH3 CONC3RT! >:]

KW: :33 > hehe i should be getting to sl33p too. i have to get up early to f33d my darlings <3 

JS: YOU 4R3 SO W31RD KW.  
JS: N1GHT

KW: :33 > goodnight! 

justiceScream [JS]  ceased pestering  kittensWrath [KW] 

 

Lezha put her phone back on the desk and flopped down on the bed, a smile on her face. Of all her friends, Lezha thought Vantera deserved happiness the most. She really was a sweet person, she just didn’t know how to open up to people and show her feelings.

Everyone in their group of friends knew that Vantera and Makaera had liked each other since they were little. Vantera and Makaera themselves were the only ones who remained clueless.

Lezha hoped she and Pyra’s plan to get them together would work.

‘Now all that’s left is if I could just get _him_ to notice me,’ Lezha thought as she drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what did you think? I wanted to get all the characters introduced and everything right away so i can move on with the plotline. what do you think of the new apartment? what do you think of Pyra's dog, Justice? what about Pyra's little chat with Lezha? who do you think Lezha wants to notice her?
> 
> Lol Lezha and Pyra are in cahoots with each other. CAHOOOOOOOOTS! ::::)


	5. CHAPTER FOUR: WHEN MOIRALLEGIANCE SHOULD BE MATESPRITSHIP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1 chapters are written with Vantera's (Karkat's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on introducing the characters, world building, and setting up the story line. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... really don't have anything to say before this chapter.
> 
> E N J O Y !

**CHAPTER FOUR: WHEN MOIRALLEGIANCE SHOULD BE MATESPRITSHIP**

Vantera woke up before Makaera the next morning and looked around her new room. It was going to take some time to get used to all the space she now had, but Vantera was really looking forward to it. She was so glad to be out of that cramped little dorm room she had called home.

Makaera stirred slightly beside her, rolling towards her and wrapping a long arm around her waist. Vantera let an almost smile grace her features before gently slipping out of Makaera’s grasp. She wondered if it would always be like this, waking up next to him.

Vantera slipped out of the bed, yawned and stretched in a cat-like fashion, and wandered tiredly over to the closet where she had managed to fit all her clothes in.

Despite the fact that the closet was really large—and Vantera didn’t really have all that many clothes—she had had some difficulty fitting all her clothes in it. She blamed Makaera and all the times he had stayed over in her room. Over half of his clothes had resided in Vantera’s dorm.

Vantera pulled on a pair of black tripp pants and a black t-shirt that said ‘Do I Look Like a Fucking People Person?’ in grey letters. On the left shoulder of the shirt—the only bit of color she allowed—was the blood red Cancer symbol that Vantera had ironed into all of her shirts. Over her shirt she slipped on a large grey hoodie, zipped up half-way. She went over to the desk and pulled out her contacts, taking the necessary ten minutes to cover her sensitive eyes with the protective tinted contacts. On top of that, they turned her bright red eyes a color of purple-blue. It was a lot less shocking than red, at least.

Glancing over at the large bed, Vantera gave the tiniest of smiles at the sight of Makaera. He was sprawled out over the whole bed, taking up every inch with his long body. His hair was splayed out around his head, giving the impression of a black halo. He had washed off his clown makeup before going to bed, so his face was clean and clear. The scar that ran from his left eyebrow to right jaw was a pure white line on his face.

Vantera could understand why he went through the trouble of hiding it every day. It was the same reason she went through the trouble to put her contacts in: To hide away that abnormal part of himself that would make other people afraid. Granted, Vantera also wore the contacts to protect her eyes, but that was beside the point.

She gently ran a single finger over the scar, watching as the wild book appeared in her mind’s eye. After a long moment, she gave up trying to understand the insanity that was Makaera’s life and left him to his dreams. She wandered out into the kitchen to make herself a pot of coffee.

Glancing at the Homestuck calendar Pyra had hung up in the living room, Vantera realized for the first time what day it was.

“Damn it all to hell…” she muttered under her breath as she glared at the offending day.

It was the 26th of October, a Saturday. On the calendar, the day was circled with a purple marker, marking it as one of Makaera’s special days. Makaera only had two kinds of special days: Concerts and parties that the band was playing at.

How Vantera had forgotten today was coming up, she had no idea. Makaera had been talking about it all month. The band had been practicing twice as often as they normally did, resulting in Vantera often being left to do both she and Makaera’s homework. She didn’t mind the extra work though. She actually enjoyed writing a well thought out argument in a way that matched Makaera’s writing style and thought process. It was even a challenge for her, something that she truly enjoyed.

However, today would be a nightmare for Vantera. Once Makaera got up, it would all be one big rush to make it through the day. Rushing through breakfast; rushing through morning rituals; rushing to band practice; then rushing to the concert. It would be hell.

Vantera wasn’t even part of it and she still felt the entire whirlwind of chaos. In truth, she thought she might enjoy days like these, because they were the days when Vantera’s entire well-constructed and well-organized life was swept up into the chaos and confusion that was Makaera.

When Makaera got up, he would eat a rushed breakfast of whatever he could find, then spend a ridiculous amount of time picking out an outfit for the concert. And by ridiculous, Vantera meant twenty minutes. In context of the word, twenty minutes wasn’t all that ridiculous, but for Vantera, who took five minutes to find an outfit, and Makaera on a normal day, who took less than a minute, it was ridiculous. After he was dressed, Makaera would spend another hour on his makeup, making it extra special for the concert. Then, as per ritual, he would paint Vantera’s face as well, “for luck.” Vantera thought that was bullshit, but she didn’t really mind that much when he painted her face. Somehow, Makaera always managed to make the crazy makeup look good.

Vantera almost never went to the concerts, so she didn’t really understand why Makaera insisted on doing this. The last time she had gone to a concert, she had nearly had a panic attack halfway through from the amount of words and bodies pressing against her. It has been complete and utter chaos, and Vantera had ended up fleeing.

Makaera was very understanding of Vantera’s situation and he never pressured her to come to his concerts, but Vantera felt that he was disappointed all the same. She could see it in his eyes when they said goodbye. Every time he left she would tell him to go out and party and have fun with his friends, but he never did. He always came home right after the concert, using the excuse “I just wasn’t all up an’ feeling it” to spend the evening with Vantera. She would sigh and act all annoyed with him, but she was really glad when he would come home to her instead of partying. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she was always afraid that he might find someone else that would take up all the space in his heart and there would be nothing left for Vantera.

As she continued to glare at the calendar, thinking about the hectic day ahead of her, Makaera snuck up on Vantera and wrapped his arms around her waist. She was so focused on her thoughts and the calendar that she didn’t notice him until he grabbed her, and then she jumped and shrieked.

“Jegus, calm down motherfucker,” Makaera said in a sleepy voice as he nuzzled her shoulder. “It’s just me.”

Vantera looked over her shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow.

“In that case my reaction wasn’t nearly spazzmatic enough,” she teased.

Makaera grinned at her and Vantera rolled her eyes.

“Get off me, shithead,” she muttered, trying to push him off her shoulders. “Don’t you have, like, a million things to be doing?”

Makaera blinked and looked at the calendar, as if realizing for the first time what day it was.

“Motherfuck!” he yelled, and just like that, Vantera’s hectic day began.

~

Zahhak pulled up in front of Lezha’s house at a quarter after eight. Their friends’ band, the Dark Carnival, was performing at a local club at nine, and the entire group—minus Vantera who hated social gatherings—was going to meet up and cheer them on. The group was meeting at the club at eight-thirty, and Zahhak was already running late.

Zahhak had taken a long time getting ready, even taking the time to shower and wash his hair. He was wearing a dark blue, form-fitting t-shirt and black jeans. His long black hair was combed and pulled back into a low ponytail. On his feet were a pair of black dress-shoes. Zahhak cared a lot about his appearance and he wanted to look nice for his friend’s concert.

He would never admit it, but he really admired that damn juggalo for his courage to go out in front of everyone and be himself. Zahhak would never be able to do that. He always had to be the person that everyone expected him to be.

He tapped his left foot impatiently and then honked the horn.

At last, Lezha came flying out the front door towards Zahhak’s dark blue Neon Dodge. She was dressed in a frilly black tank top and olive green half-jacket with a matching skirt. To complete the look, she wore her typical blue cat-hat, fingerless gloves, and converse. In Zahhak’s opinion, she looked breathtaking. Although, he always thought she was breathtaking.

“Hey, Kid,” he said when she opened the door and slid onto the clean, leather seat.

“Don’t call me ‘kid’,” Lezha whined.

Zahhak just laughed.

“I’m older than you, you know,” Lezha reminded him.

Zahhak scowled.

He hated being reminded that he was the youngest of their entire group. It was almost ironic. Aside from Makaera, Zahhak was the tallest of all their friends, and he was most definitely the buffest. And yet, he was the youngest. The only thing that could top that irony was if Makaera had been born in December of 1994. Then the youngest of their group of twelve would also be the tallest.

After a moment of silence, Zahhak swallowed his irritation and said, “So, how are you this evening?”

Lezha’s mood did a complete one-eighty from annoyed to extremely hyper and happy in less than a second.

“Oh, I’m so excited!” she gushed. “We haven’t been out as a group in _so_ long!”

“That’s true,” Zahhak replied, glad to be able to talk to his moirail normally again. He hated it when they argued, even if it was only for a moment.

“It’s just too bad that Vantera won’t come…” Lezha trailed off sadly.

Zahhak felt a twinge of jealousy. In Homestuck, Nepeta had a huge flushcrush on Karkat. Zahhak knew Lezha wasn’t homosexual, but he couldn’t help feeling jealous whenever she talked about Vantera. For some reason, Lezha just loved hanging out with the bitch. Zahhak couldn’t understand the reason.

“Yeah,” he grumbled, “too bad.”

Lezha frowned.

“What’s with you today?” she asked.

Zahhak sighed, he didn’t want to argue with Lezha again.

“I’m sorry, Lezha,” he said softly. “I guess I’m just stressed out.”

“You’re always stressed out these days,” Lezha pouted. “You never have any time to hang out with me anymore.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” said Zahhak. He wasn’t sure what else he could say to make things right.

Luckily, he didn’t have to say anything more.

Being the wonderful person and moirail that she was, Lezha smiled and said, “Its okay. At least we get to hang out tonight!”

And just like that, her chipperness was back. Zahhak couldn’t help but laugh.

~

By the time they pulled up in front of the club, Lezha had managed to put Zahhak in a good mood, and they were talking cheerfully. Zahhak parked his car in an open space and went around the car to open the door for Lezha. However, the impatient girl couldn’t wait for him and she bolted almost as soon as he cut the engine.

“Lezha…” Zahhak grumbled.

She turned around, a bright smile illuminating her face.

“Come on, Zahhak!” she cried, grabbing his arm and tugging him towards the entrance. “Everybody else is already here!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Zahhak laughed, unable to remain irritable when Lezha was smiling so radiantly.

Lezha let go of him and dashed towards the entrance by herself. She showed the bouncer her ID, proving that she was over eighteen, and slipped inside, throwing one last mischievous smirk over her shoulder at Zahhak.

Zahhak sighed and went in after her.

Since it was still rather early, the club had yet to fill up with a crowd, and Zahhak had no trouble finding his group of friends. They were all crammed together around one small table in the corner. It seemed most of them had already ordered drinks, as a few of their faces were already flushed. The only faces absent from the crowd were Makaera’s, Ampro’s, Piex’s, Serka’s, and, of course, Vantera’s. Vantera never came anywhere where there would be large crowds gathering, and the other four would be performing soon.

Zahhak slipped into the booth beside Lezha, and pulled her into his lap so there would be more room for everyone.

They sat around talking and sipping their drinks for a little while, before heading out onto the dance floor.

Maryam and her boyfriend, Leo, left the table first to go dance together and Pyra left soon after, her giant Great Dane, Justice, trotting at her heals. The rest of the table burst into laughter when Pyra had Justice stand on her hind legs, putting her forepaws and Pyra’s shoulders, and dance with her. Captor gallantly—and drunkenly—asked Megida to dance with him and she followed him out onto the dance floor, blushing heavily.

Soon, it was just Zahhak, Lezha, and Night left at the table. Night was smiling and laughing as he listened to the music and watched his friends dance.

He glanced over at Zahhak and said, “If you and Lea wanna go dance, I won’t mind. It’s not like I can do much in my condition anyways. I’ll just stay here and watch the table.”

“You sure?” asked Zahhak.

“Yeah, it’s no trouble.” Night smiled confidently.

It appeared that drinking seemed to give Zahhak’s self-conscious and nervous friend the confidence boost he so desperately needed.

At that moment, Roar by Katy Perry came on, and Lezha squealed in delight.

“That’s my song!” she shrieked, jumping out of Zahhak’s lap. “Dance with me, Zahhak!”

Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Zahhak’s hand and dragged him forcefully onto the dance floor with a strength Zahhak didn’t know she had. Then again, it’s not like he had been trying to stop her.

Once they had forced their way to the middle of the dance floor where the rest of their friends were dancing, Lezha spun around and grabbed both of Zahhak’s hands. As they danced to the music, Lezha smiled so brightly, Zahhak thought he would be blinded by the brilliance of it. When was the last time she had smiled like that? He honestly couldn’t remember.

“ _I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire,_  
 _Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar_  
 _Louder, louder than a lion_  
 _Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar_  
 _Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!_  
 _Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!_  
 _Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!_  
 _You’re gonna hear me roar!”_

Lezha was singing along to the music at the top of her voice. It was shrill and slightly off key, but Zahhak didn’t think he had heard anything so beautiful as Lezha singing in all his life, because she was laughing and smiling and singing like she didn’t have a care in the world.

Zahhak spun her under his arm a few times, loving the way she laughed as he did. When she spun back to face him, Lezha flung her arms around his neck, giggling.

“This’s the most fun I’ve had ‘n _ages_!” she squealed into his ear.

Zahhak pulled back to look at her, noticing for the first time how flushed her face was.

“Let’s go sit down for a bit,” he said.

Lezha didn’t look like she actually heard him, but she followed him obediently back to the table.

“You looked like you were having fun,” Captor said with a smirk as they said down.

“I _love_ dancing!” Lezha squealed, giddy with excitement.

Zahhak shot a concerned glance at her. She had only had two drinks, but he knew she couldn’t hold her alcohol very well. Right now, he suspected she was practically drunk off her ass.

Lezha turned to Zahhak and tugged on his arm.

“Za—hhak, less go dance a-gin!” she whined, her words slurring together slightly.

“You’re still looking pink,” he replied. “I want to wait here until you cool off a little.”

Lezha pouted and turned away from him, crossing her arms and sulking. Zahhak patted her once on the head and proceeded to down the drink Leo set in front of him in one go.

“Don’t drink so fast,” Maryam scolded him, setting a tiny shot glass in front of Lezha and giving a slightly larger glass to Night.

Zahhak’s intended scowl came out as more of a grin as he felt the alcohol begin to take effect. He shook his head to clear it and then turned his gaze to the dance floor, watching as Pyra danced with Justice in the middle of the dance floor. He almost laughed because everyone else was giving her and the dog such a wide girth.

“The Dark Carnival should be starting any minute now,” Night informed them, glancing at his watch.

“Once they start can we go dance again?” Lezha asked, turning to face Zahhak with pleading eyes.

He studied her face carefully. Her cheeks were still a little pink, but she wasn’t slurring quite as bad anymore and she looked a little more calm—as if calm were such a thing when it came to Lezha.

“Sure,” Zahhak finally consented.

Lezha squealed and picked up her shot glass before Zahhak could stop her.

She snapped her teeth at him when he tried to reach for the glass and said, “Mine!”

Zahhak sighed and withdrew his hand, hoping that one more shot glass wouldn’t be enough to send her spiraling off the deep end.

After a few more minutes of waiting and drinking and chatting, Pyra and Justice came back to the table, breathless and sweaty.

“Man, I ain’ _not_ getting up to dance ne-more,” Pyra gasped, throwing herself theatrically into her seat.

Leo chuckled lightly and said, “Not even when your friends start playing?”

“Hell no,” Pyra replied, picking up her glass and sipping from it. “Don’ get me wrong, I love ‘em all, but there’s no fracking way in hell I’m-a gittin’ up to go dance ne-more.”

Zahhak chuckled quietly, because Pyra was obviously drunk and talking in a southern accent, and it was really funny.

At last the Dark Carnival came onto the stage that was adjacent to the DJ platform. The whole group at the table started cheering, and they weren’t the only ones. Despite the fact that they were a pretty recently formed band, and they were still in college, the Dark Carnival was already really popular. There were a lot of college students that Zahhak recognized in the crowd, in addition to a bunch of other people he had never seen before.

Makaera stood at the very front of the stage, dressed in black tripp pants with royal purple polka-dots all over them and a dark grey t-shirt with the royal indigo-purple Capricorn symbol on it. Underneath his t-shirt, he wore a long-sleeved fishnet shirt and his hands were covered with black fingerless gloves. His hair was its usual trademark ratted and messy, and his face was painted white with a grey painted smile and eyes.

To Makaera’s right was Serka, her long black hair hanging in messy curls down her back and over her shoulders. She had on a black t-shirt with the blue Scorpio symbol on it and a grey jacket over it. Dark blue jeans covered her long, slender legs, and her large black glasses were perched on her face. Zahhak thought she bore a striking resemblance to Vriska.

On Makaera’s left was Peix. Like Serka, her long black hair hung down her back and over her shoulders, though the curls were slightly more delicate and neat. She wore a black tube top with the pink Pieces symbol on it, and a skirt that was pink on one side, and a sort of bright turquoise on the other. She wore numerous gold bracelets and necklaces, and a gold headband over her forehead. She had traded in her pink glasses for a pair of pink goggles that reminded Zahhak of the kind he had to wear when working on his robots.

In the back, on a raised platform, was Ampro. He was dressed in his typical grey pinstriped skinny-jeans and a black t-shirt with the dark purple Aquarius symbol on it. His black hair had been greased and styled, and his black hipster glasses were polished. A purple cape rested on his shoulders, and he had a purple striped scarf around his neck. Not one of his fingers was without a ring.

Makaera adjusted the mike and smiled at the crowd.

“Yo,” he said. “Thanks for all up an’ coming out tonight, motherfuckers. We’re the Dark Carnival and I hope you all up and enjoy the show!”

The tune he struck up was fast and furious at the same time as it was sad and nostalgic. It was a tune that everyone at the table, and most likely everyone in the room, knew very well. It was the song that had given the band their name, the Dark Carnival.

“ _Welcome to the Carnival,_  
 _You’ll never want to leave._  
 _You can’t escape this evil hell._  
 _We’ve trapped you here, you see._

_A clown with violent eyes;_   
_A ride to touch the skies;_   
_A mirror with evil glare;_   
_A girl with deadpan stare._   
_This is the Dark Carnival,_   
_Where evil stalks you all._   
_It haunts you in the dead of night;_   
_It feeds upon your fright._

_Welcome to the Carnival,_   
_You’ll never want to leave._   
_You can’t escape this evil hell._   
_We’ve trapped you here, you see.”_

Zahhak smiled as the song continued. It was one of his favorites, despite what he said about the band. The song itself seemed to speak to everyone who heard it, and it always made Zahhak shiver.

“Mmm,” Lezha hummed, a smile on her face, “Zahhak lets go dance again.”

Zahhak sighed.

“Okay,” he said, and he let her lead him out on to the dance floor again.

~

The alcohol was obviously affecting him. Zahhak could barely remember what happened in the time that he left the table up until now. He wasn’t even sure how much time had passed by. The Dark Carnival was still playing, so it hadn’t been that long, but it still made him nervous to not know how much time had passed.

Lezha was swaying drunkenly in his arms, singing along to the song Makaera was singing.

She looked up at Zahhak and smiled. Despite the fact that it was a fast, upbeat song, they had both fallen into a sort of slow dance. Zahhak smiled down at her, his mind too fuzzy to think about going back to the table. Right now, his mind wouldn’t register anything except how he never wanted this moment to end.

Scratch that. This moment was so much better.

As Zahhak had smiled down at her, Lezha stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him.

Zahhak knew he should stop this, knew it was only happening because Lezha was drunk, but he didn’t have the motivation to push her away. He just kissed her back and tugged her a little closer.

He wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted, but when they broke apart, Makaera had started a new song. Zahhak really wanted to spend the rest of the night kissing Lezha, but he resisted temptation and simply went back to dancing with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you think? lots of drinking, dancing, and sloppy makeouts in this chapter XD lol jk there were no sloppy makeouts (unfortunately). I love this chapter because of the whole Lezha x Zahhak shipping (I DID THE THING) but I still think there are parts of it that could use some work. Mainly the ending here ://


	6. CHAPTER FIVE: FLUSHED FOR YOU?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1 chapters are written with Vantera's (Karkat's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on introducing the characters, world building, and setting up the story line. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MORE PESTERLOGS AND I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO MAKE THEM COLORFUL FUCK MY LIFE
> 
> E N J O Y !

**CHAPTER FIVE: FLUSHED FOR YOU?**

After the concert, Makaera stood around talking to his friends for a lot longer than he meant to. He wanted to get home to Vantera, but he just kept getting sidetracked by other conversations.

“Hey, Maka,” Pyra said, getting his attention. “You coming to the after party, or what?”

Makaera shook his head.

“Nah,” he replied. “Gonna get home to Vantera. Can’t leave that poor motherfucker alone _all_ night, ya know?”

“What are you, chicken?” Pyra taunted, eager to get a rise out of him. “Scared to go out and get your party on?”

Makaera rolled his eyes. As much as he enjoyed bickering with Pyra, he really wasn’t in the mood tonight.

“Py,” he said in a dangerously soft voice, “when have you ever known this motherfucker to be afraid of all up an’ getting his motherfucking wicked party on?”

“All the time,” Pyra said, grinning wickedly. “You _never_ go out and party with us.”

“That’s ‘cause a motherfucker’s gotta take care of a brother,” Makaera retorted, trying desperately to keep his temper under control. He didn’t want to get into a kismesisfight with Pyra right now.

“Mmhmm,” Pyra still had that damn grin on her face. “And how, exactly, do you plan to ‘take care of’ this brother?”

Makaera froze, his eyes wide, and Pyra’s knowing smile got wider and wider.

“None of your damn business,” he growled.

With the way his voice had shifted, Pyra knew he had finally snapped. She really wanted to do this kismesisfight with him, but at the same time she wanted him to get home to Vantera.

Deciding to back out of the fight before it really got out of hand, Pyra scoffed and said, “Whatever, clownass. Go home to your moirail and railpail, or whatever it is you do with each other.”

Makaera growled again, an animalistic sound that signaled he was very close to jumping Pyra right then and there.

Pyra turned and waved over her shoulder.

“Don’t wait up for me,” she said.

With that, she walked out of the club with Justice.

Makaera glared after her, waiting for the last of his hatred to burn out of his system.

“Don’t get too worked up about Purra,” Lezha said with a smile. “She’s just picking on you claws she’s pitch furr you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Makaera sighed. “I’m all up an’ pitch for her too, it’s just I don’t think I’m all up to handling a motherfucking kismesis right now.”

“Awe, how come?”

Makaera sighed again and looked away.

“My motherfucking quadrants are all messed up,” he finally said.

Lezha laughed lightly.

“How so?” she giggled. “Tera’s your meowrail and she’s your only quadrant, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, but… it’s more complicated than that.”

Lezha cocked her head to the side, intent on listening to what her palecrush wanted to say.

Makaera glanced up to make sure Zahhak was far enough down the hall to not hear their conversation.

“Can you all up and keep a motherfucking secret?” he asked softly.

Lezha’s ears perked up and she nodded eagerly.

“I don’t think I’m all up and pale for Vantera anymore.”

Lezha’s heart fluttered for so many reasons. First because Makaera was her palecrush and if he wasn’t pale for Vantera, it meant his pale quadrant was wide open. Second, because it meant Makaera was beginning to recognize his flushed feelings for Vantera, and that was very good.

“So, are you flushed furr her?” she asked softly.

“I… I don’t motherfucking know,” he said. “I—maybe… yeah…”

Lezha reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it slightly in hers.

“Go home and talk to Tera,” she advised him. “Find out how she feels. And don’t worry. Things will all work out in the end.”

Makaera looked into Lezha’s eyes and smiled.

“Thanks, motherfucker,” he said. “This brother really needed to hear that.”

Lezha smiled brightly and let go of Makaera’s hand.

“See you later,” she said, backing away. “Don’t furget to talk to her! Communication is always needed in any of the quadrants.”

Makaera nodded and Lezha turned and darted away to Zahhak. He felt almost envious of how easy their relationship was. They never had any doubts about whether they were in the right quadrant together or not.

~

Vantera opened her eyes and stared down the clock on the desk. She was sitting on the floor against the opposite wall, knees pulled up against her chest, wearing nothing but a pair of candy red boxers and a dark grey tank-top. She had been sitting like this ever since Makaera left, and would be waiting for several hours more.

The clock told her it was a quarter to ten, which meant that the band had surely started their performance by now.

Vantera sighed and pushed herself to her feet, using the wall as support. She wandered down the hall to the bathroom to wash the clown-makeup off her face and begin getting ready for bed. She probably wouldn’t actually go to sleep for several more hours, but she wasn’t leaving this greasepaint on any longer and she figured she might as well do the rest of her nightly routine as well.

Looking in the mirror, Vantera grimaced at the face that gazed back at her. She looked kind of like some sort of demented Joker—she wasn’t even sure how it was possible to look more demented than the Joker. However, she had to admit Makaera had done a nice job with her face. He used white as the base and then mixed in little bits of black in to create grey in the shadowed areas. It looked kind of cool, even though it was really creepy.

Vantera rummaged through the second drawer beneath the sink for her contact solution, and proceeded to take out her contacts. Once that was done, without opening her eyes, she reached over and turned the knob on the wall, dimming the lights to what her sensitive eyes could handle. Vantera then wet down a wash cloth and began to rub at her face.

It took a lot longer to get through her nightly routines than usual, mainly because it took so long to take off the clown-face. However, Vantera was finally ready for bed, and even felt a little tired.

Padding back into her room, Vantera glanced at her clock again. It told her the hour was ten, which meant that the Dark Carnival was about half done with their concert. Vaguely, Vantera wondered if Makaera would actually go to the after party or not. She doubted it. He never had before, so why should he start now? However, she still couldn’t help the anxiety that welled up in her chest at the thought that tonight might be the night Makaera finally decided not to come home.

Gasping at the sudden twisting pain in her chest, Vantera stumbled and grabbed the desk for support. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to block out the torrent of horrible words that broke through her walls, coming from everywhere within a ten mile radius of her. This was a side effect of the anxiety attacks Vantera had, but it had gotten worse over the months.

Slumping to the floor, Vantera kneeled down and pressed her forehead against the ground. The pressure of words was almost unbearable. She had to find a way to block them out.

Turning her head to the side, Vantera saw the underside of her desk, and her razor blade that had fallen beneath it during her half-hearted attempts at unpacking.

Pain had always ended up being Vantera’s outlet. It was the only thing she knew that helped to shut out the angry, miserable, terrified words that pounded at her skull.

Grabbing the razor blade, Vantera pushed herself into a sitting position, feeling its familiar weight in her hand.

The first cut was always the hardest. She was shaking so badly that it was difficult to get the knife in a good position to make a clean cut. She pressed the blade to the wrist of her left arm, and pulled back sharply, gasping at the sudden pain and the color of her candy blood.

The effect was almost instant. The words dimmed, and most of them were pushed back. The pain Vantera felt was nearly enough to block them out.

Suddenly, she was overcome by the need to feel more pain. The need to block out those words completely until she couldn’t feel, see, or hear anything but her own pain.

Vantera brought up the razor again, positioning it a little farther up her arm. The cut she made was deeper this time, though not much more painful than the first had been. She slashed again, deeper still, craving that pain that would shut out the cursed words. One… Two more times she cut her arm and, as she raised her arm to make the sixth cut, she realized she could no longer hear the words.

She cut again, for good measure, and dropped the bloodstained knife to the floor beside her.

She knew it was a bad idea to just let the wounds bleed, but she didn’t have the energy to get up and clean them. Her body felt blissfully numb and her mind was blessedly empty.

She was unable to register the black and purple tripp pants when they came into her view, or the soft, “Hey,” that was murmured above her.

It wasn’t until she felt a hand on her cheek that Vantera realized someone had been calling her name.

Lifting her eyes, Vantera met the deep indigo eyes of her best friend, who was kneeling in front of her, looking almost scared.

“Veebro…” Makaera said, softly, reaching out his other hand.

If that nickname from long ago didn’t snap Vantera out of her tired trance, the next thing Makaera said did.

“Come back to me…”

And so she did, if for no other reason than to never hear him speak in that lonely, broken voice ever again.

“Makaera,” she said softly.

“Hey, bro,” he said, smiling weakly. “Glad to have you back.”

There was no scolding her for cutting, or getting angry or upset about it. Makaera offered her simple acceptance for who she was and all the problems that came with her. He hated what she put herself through, she knew he did, but he never got angry about it. He just picked her up and held her and rocked her until she felt normal again.

“Makaera…” she said again, exhaustion creeping over her.

“It’s okay, bro,” he replied, lifting her small body easily in his arms and carrying her to the bed. “I got you.”

Vantera nodded and closed her eyes. Makaera would take care of her. He always did, and when she woke up, he’d be right by her side.

~

Vantera’s eyes slowly blinked open. They were hazy and unfocused, but they were open.

Makaera breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey, bro,” he said.

He tied off the bandages he had wrapped around Vantera’s left arm after cleaning the wounds. Vantera had cut before, but never like this. She had always stopped after three cuts, and they were never very deep.

Fortunately, it seemed that her cuts this time were even more shallow than usual. It looked like her hand had been shaky and unsteady the whole time, causing her to be unable to cut as deep as usual. The wounds looked horrible, and it probably hurt like a bitch, but they weren’t any more dangerous than the cuts she usually made.

“How long’ve I been out?” Vantera asked quietly.

“A few minutes,” Makaera replied. “I all up and fixed you up so you wouldn’t go and die on me of motherfucking blood loss.”

Vantera rolled her eyes and Makaera chuckled.

“Thanks,” Vantera said, so softly that Makaera almost missed it.

He stared at her silently, surprised. Vantera wasn’t one to apologize or thank anyone for _anything_ and, on the rare occasions that she did, it was almost always insincere and followed by a rude name. Makaera didn’t think he had very heard his best friend say “thanks” or “sorry” without following it with a “shithead” or “fuckass”.

Makaera suddenly felt the urge to kiss his best bro and, against probably better judgment, he followed his impulse and leaned down to press his lips against Vantera’s.

Vantera jerked slightly out of shock, and squirmed a little, but she wasn’t really in any fit state to recoil or push Makaera away. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to. She just laid there and accepted the kiss.

Makaera pulled away a moment later and smiled at Vantera. It was sort of an apologetic smile. He wasn’t entirely sure why he had done that. He wanted to tell Vantera his flushed feelings for her, but he wasn’t sure how to express them properly with words. Kissing her was the next best way to confess in his opinion. Even if it was a bit uncalled for and might make her super pissed off.

“The fuck was that?” Vantera snarled as soon as her head was clear enough to form a coherent thought.

She had always had the faintest idea that Makaera might be flushed for her, despite their steady pale romance. However, it always seemed like Makaera was just too caught up in his own world of ‘motherfucking miracles’ to even notice his feelings. Vantera could easily chalk this whole kissing episode up to him being high off his ass after a concert, but looking into his eyes, she had a feeling this wasn’t the case.

There was only one thing to do. She had to ask.

Makaera shrugged in response to her question, unsure how to really answer.

“Well I’ll tell you what it wasn’t,” Vantera continued, after Makaera didn’t speak up. “ _Pale_.”

Makaera glanced up nervously to meet her bright red eyes. She was glaring daggers at him, but she was always doing that. Makaera knew her well enough to look past the mask of anger and irritation, to the deeper parts of her expression. The way her eyes flickered all over his facing, searching for an answer. The way she bit nervously at her bottom lip, fearful of the answers she would find. The way her eyes hardened with determination as curiosity won over fear. The way he could practically hear her heart beating, pounding away frantically in her chest. It all told him how Vantera really felt.

She was scared—that much was obvious—of their changing relationship. Well who wouldn’t be? They had been moirails for _years_. Almost eleven years, in fact. Long before either of them even knew what moirails were. It was what had kept Makaera from acting on his feelings when he first realized they were switching from pale to flushed. He didn’t want to lose what he had with Vantera.

Funny thing was, when he thought about it, his qualms were really kind of silly. Troll romance is very different from human romance, because it broke apart the relationship into four quadrants. Becoming matesprits with Vantera wouldn’t necessarily mean he would lose the relationship he already had with her. It just meant it would change.

“Makaera?” Vantera asked, dragging him out of his thoughts.

He grinned down at her.

“Sorry, bro, I kinda spaced out there.”

Vantera rolled her eyes and huffed.

“Whatever, fuckass,” she grumbled. “I’m tired, I’m going to sleep.”

With that, she rolled over and promptly passed the fuck out. The moment was gone and things were back to normal. Makaera wondered if he should have told her his feelings when he had the chance.

~

About an hour after Vantera had fallen asleep, Makaera was ready for bed. He had taken a long, hot shower to wash all the paint off his face and clean his hair. He pulled on a comfy pair of black sweatpants with purple polka dots on them and sat down in front of his computer, ready to get some serious Homestuck reading done.

However, Makaera’s intentions of reading Homestuck were killed when his computer went off, alerting him that he had a new message.

He opened up pesterchum to see who the hell was messaging him when pretty much all his friends were out at the after party. He was pretty sure none of them would bother to message him when they could be out partying.

 

justiceScream [JS]  began pestering  capriciousMiracles [CM] 

JS: H3Y >:]   
JS: HOWS 1T GO1NG?   
JS: W1TH YOUR MO1R41L?  
JS: H3H3H3H3H3H3H3H3H3H3H3H3H3 >:]

CM: WhAt ThE mOtHeRfUcK pY? aReNt YoU aT a MoThErFuCkInG pArTy Or SoMeThInG?   
CM: dO yOu ReAlLy HaVe NoThInG bEtTeR tO dO tHaN mOtHeRfUcKiNg PeStEr Me?   
CM: GoG FuCkInG dAmNiT gO gEt YoUr MoThErFuCkInG pArTy On AnD lEaVe Me AlOnE aLrEaDy  
CM: Im TrYiNg To ReAd HoMeStUcK

JS: SORRY BUT TH1S P4RTY 1S SUP3R L4M3! B3 GL4D YOU D1DN’T COME 1TS SOOOOOOO BOR1NG!  
JS: 4NYW4YS 1 W4S JUST CHECK1NG 1N ON YOU 4ND T3R4 S1NC3 YOU GUYS H4V3 GOTT4 B3 DO1NG SOM3TH1NG MOR3 FUN TH4N TH1S >;] *W1NK W1NK NUDG3 NUDG3*

CM: sOrRy To MoThErFuCkInG dIsApPoInT yOu. KkS aSlEeP   
CM: aNd As AmUsInG aS iT iS lIsTeNiNg To YoU mOtHeRfUcKiNg InSiNuAtInG fLuShEd AcTiViEs BeTwEeN mE aNd Kk I wOuLd PoLiTeLy ReQuEsT tHaT yOu MoThErFuCkInG sToP bEfOrE i GeT rEaLlY mOtHeRfUcKiNg AnGrY.   
CM: bUt I kNoW pOlItElY aSkInG yOu AnYtHiNg AiNt GoNnA gEt Me ShIt So IlL jUsT sKiP sTrAiGhT tO tHe PaRt WhErE i ThReAtEn To BeAt YoUr SoRrY aSs WiThIn An InCh Of YoUr MoThErFuCkInG lIfE.  
CM: hOnK  
CM: hOnK

JS: H4H4 TH4T OM1NOUS HONK1NG DO3SN’T WORK ON M3! 1 KNOW 4ND YOU KNOW TH4T YOU WOULD N3V3R HURT M3 >;]   
JS: 4ND SH3’S SL33P1NG????   
JS: D4MN YOU MUST H4V3 R34LLY WORN H3R OUT W1TH 4LL YOUR GLOR1OUS R41LP4L31NG! >:]  
JS: 1 M34N 1 KN3W YOU H4D 4 S3XY 4SS BUT HOT D4MN!

CM: jS i Am AbOuT aS mOtHeRfUcKiNg SeRiOuS aS i CaN pOsSiBlY bE oN tHe FuCkInG mAtTeR.  
CM: sTeP tHe MoThErFuCk OfF rIgHt NoW bEfOrE i BlOw A mOtHeRfUcKiNg FuSe Or SoMe ShIt.

JS: >:[   
JS: YOU’R3 4BSOLUT3LY NO FUN 4T 4LL!  
JS: 1 W4S JUST T34S1NG 4ND YOU KNOW 1T!

CM: I dOnT gIvE a MoThErFuCk. I dOnT gIvE a FlYiNg FuCk.   
CM: BaCk ThE mOtHeRfUcK oFf Me AnD kKs ReLaTiOnShIp.   
CM: WhY dO yOu EvEn CaRe AnYwAyS? i KnOw YoUrE aLl Up An PiTcH fOr Me BuT kKs My MoIrAiL. sHe AiNt EvEn In YoUr WaY oF bEcOmInG mY kIsMeSiS  
CM: sO wHaT tHe MoThErFuCk Do YoU cArE?

JS: WHO4 DUD3 CH1LL.  
JS: 1’M NOT TRY1NG TO WR3CK YOU 4ND KK’S R3L4T1ONSH1P H4RD 4S 1T M4Y B3 TO B3L31V3. 1’M 4CTU4LLY TRY1NG TO H3LP!

CM: hAhA. wHaT???   
CM: yOuRe FuCkInG pItCh FoR mE aNd YoU wAnNa MoThErFuCkInG hElP wItH mY qUaDrAnTs?  
CM: ThAtS sOmE pReTtY mOtHeRfUcKiNg PaLe ShIt RiGhT tHeRe. WhAt GiVeS?

JS: J33Z3 CM YOU 4CT L1K3 1TS TH3 3ND OF TH3 WORLD TH4T 1’M H3LP1NG YOU.   
JS: 4ND 1TS NOT N3C3SS4R1LY YOU TH4T 1’M H3LP1NG   
JS: 1 M34N Y34H MY M3DDL1NG 1S H3LP1NG YOU BUT YOU’R3 NOT 3X4CTLY TH3 1NT3ND3D T4RG3T.  
JS: 1TS JUST TH4T 1N ORD3R TO H3LP TH3 1NT3ND3D T4RG3T W3 H4V3 TO 4LSO H3LP YOU.

CM: uHhH…. wHaT?????  
CM: yOu MoThErFuCkInG lOsT mE tHeRe…

JS: UGHHHHHHH!!!!  
JS: T3R4. 1 W4NN4 H3LP T3R4 OK4Y???

CM: WhY dO yOu WaNnA hElP kK?  
CM: nOw Im JuSt MoRe CoNfUsEd…

JS: J3GUS YOU’R3 CLU3L3SS   
JS: 1’M P4L3 FOR H3R   
JS: OK4Y???  
JS: YOU C4N L4UGH YOUR FUCK1NG JUGG4LO 4SS OFF 4BOUT 1T NOW

CM: Im NoT lAuGhInG

JS: SO TH4T’S WHY 1’V3 B33N H3LP1NG YOU GOT 1T NOW?  
JS: W41T HOW COM3?

CM: wElL yOu ObViOuSlY kNoW iM nOt ExAcTlY pAlE fOr Kk.  
CM: AnD yOuRe LiKe HeR bEsT fRiEnD aSiDe FrOm Me (HoNeStLy I tHiNk ThAtS tHe OnLy ThInG tHaT kEePs Us FrOm KiLlInG eAcH oThEr) AnD iVe AlWaYs KiNdA mOtHeRfUcKiNg ThOuGhT sHe MiGhT hAvE sOmE mOtHeRfUcKiNg PaLe FeElInGs FoR yOu ToO  
CM: tHaTs WhAt GoT mE fEeLiNg MoThErFuCkInG pItCh FoR yOu In ThE fIrSt PlAcE.  
CM: iTs MoRe ThAn ThAt ThOuGh NoW. eVeR sInCe My OwN mOtHeRfUcKiNg FeElInGs FoR kK sToPpEd BeInG mOtHeRfUcKiNg PaLe.  
CM: My PiTcH fOr YoU dIdNt AlL uP aNd Go AwAy.  
CM: HoNeStLy I tHiNk I tOtAlLy AnD cOmPlEtElY mOtHeRfUcKiNg HaTe YoU.

JS: WOW   
JS: OK4Y TH4T W4S JUST 4BOUT TH3 P1TCH13ST BL4CK3DY BL4CK TH1NG 1’V3 3V3R H4D TH3 M1SFORTUN3 TO R34D.   
JS: 3XCUS3 M3 FOR 4 MOM3NT WH1L3 1 SWOON OV3R YOUR PITCHM4T3 SK1LLS.  
JS: SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!!! ><3  
JS: 1 H4T3 YOU TOO BY TH3 W4Y >:]

CM: hOnK :o)   
CM: hAhA  
CM: sO yOuRe PaLe FoR kK. tHaTs CoOl

JS: YOU’R3 OK4Y W1TH 1T?

CM: NaH i DoNt MiNd.  
CM: NeVeR rEaLlY bEeN tHe KiNd Of MoThErFuCkEr To GeT aLl HoT aN bOtHeReD bY tHaT kInD oF sHiT.

JS: BUT 1SN’T SH3 ST1LL YOUR P4L3M4T3?   
JS: SHOULDN’T TH4T BOTH3R YOU TO SOM3 D3GR33?  
JS: NOT TH4T 1’M COMPL41N1NG

CM: bLeH. i DoNt AlL uP aNd KnOw ThE mOtHeRfUcKiNg AnSwErS tO aLl A tHaT sHiT.   
CM: aLl I kNoW iS tHaT i DoNt CaRe ThAt YoUrE mOtHeRfUcKiNg PaLe FoR hEr   
CM: I hOnEsTlY cOuLdNt CaRe LeSs!  
CM: Kk WoUlD bE hApPy WiTh YoU aS hEr MoIrAiL. 

JS: KK WOULD 4LSO B3 H4PPY W1TH YOU 4S H3R M4T3SPR1T3!  
JS: >:]

CM: i DoNt MoThErFuCkInG kNoW aBoUt ThAt

JS: TRUST M3 CM SH3 P1T13S YOU SO H4RD 1 C4N SM3LL 1T FROM M1L3S 4W4Y   
JS: SH3’S ST3W1NG UP 4 P1TY STORM SOM3TH1NG F31RC3 FOR YOU!   
JS: SH3’S SO FLUSH3D SH3’S TURN1NG K4RK4T SH4D3S OF R3D FOR YOU!!!!  
JS: 1TS TH3 MOST B34UT1FUL P1T1FUL FUCK1NG SH1T YOU 3V3R D1D S33

CM: HaHa ReAlLy?  
CM: I gUeSs I jUsT nEvEr SeEn It

JS: TH4T’S B3C4US3 YOU’R3 BOTH TOO DUMB TO S33 TH1S P1TY STORM YOUR BR3W1NG FOR 3ACH OTH3R!!   
JS: 3V3RYON3 3LS3 C4N S33 1T THOUGH  
JS: 1TS GOTT3N PR3TTY 4NNOY1NG SO 1 F1N4LLY D3C1D3D TO T4K3 M4TT3RS 1NTO MY OWN H4NDS!

CM: I sEe   
CM: HoNk :o)   
CM: ThAnKs Js  
CM: BeSt MoThErFuCkInG fRiEnD :o)

JS: 1’M NOT YOUR B3ST FR13ND 1’M YOUR K1SM3S1S!

CM: hAhA :o)  
CM: hOnK

JS: ><3

CM: ><3

JS: 1 H4T3 YOU YOU CR4ZY 4SS JUGG4LO >:]

CM: yEaH i HaTe YoU tOo PiTcHsIs :o)   
CM: GoTtA gO nOw  
CM: KkS wAkInG uP. gOtTa MoThErFuCkInG tElL hEr ThE gOoD nEwS :o)

JS: YOU B3TT3R FUCK1NG T3LL H3R YOU’R3 FLUSH3D FOR H3R WH1L3 YOU’R3 4T 1T >:]  
JS: OTH3RW1S3 1 M1GHT F33L 1NCL1N3D 4S TO T4K3 MY M3DDL31NG 4 ST3P FURTH3R 4ND T3LL H3R MYS3LF.

CM: dOnT yOu FuCkInG dArE   
CM: hOnK   
CM: iLl MoThErFuCkInG tElL hEr WhEn Im AlL uP aN rEaDy To TeLl HeR  
CM: hOnK

JS: Y34H Y34H WH4T3V3R. K33P YOUR CLOWN4SS P4NTS ON!

CM: hOnK!

JS: BY TH3 W4Y; 1’M NOT COM1NG HOM3 TON1GHT

CM: wAiT wHy ThE fUcK nOt?? :o(

JS: H3H3H3H3H3H3 >:]   
JS: M3DDL3Y M3DDL3SOM3 R34SONS >;]  
JS: GOTT4 G1V3 YOU 4ND KK SOM3 ROOM FOR TH4T P1TY STORM 1 M3NT1ON3D 34RL13R!

CM: UgH wEvE aLrEaDy BeEn ThRoUgH tHiS iM nOt TeLlInG hEr ToNiGhT.

JS: >:[  
JS: WHY NOT???

CM: bEcAuSe Of PaLeMaTe IsSuEs.  
CM: IlL eXpLaIn If YoU cOmE hOmE tOnIgHt

JS: FUCK YOU KROM3 >:[   
JS: F1N3 1’M COM1NG HOM3 NOW   
JS: STUP1D P4RTY 1SN’T WORTH W4ST1NG MOR3 T1M3 4T 4NYW4YS 1F YOU’R3 NOT GONN4 T3LL H3R.  
JS: JUST SO W3’R3 CL34R 1F YOU DO 3ND UP T3LL1NG H3R B3FOR3 1 G3T HOM3 4ND D3C1D3 YOU W4NN4 P41L BUT TH3N C4N’T  
JS: DON’T COM3 CRY1NG TO M3!

CM: HaHa Ok.  
CM: HoNk :o)

justiceScream [JS]  ceased pestering  capriciousMiracles [CM] 

Makaera closed out of pesterchum just as Vantera sat up in bed and yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It was about one in the morning, so she had only been asleep for a couple hours. Makaera assumed it was probably all the noise he had been making on the computer that woke her up.

“Sorry, bro,” he said, turning to look at Vantera with a wide smile on his face. “I didn’t motherfucking wake you up, did I?”

“I don’t know how you expected me to sleep through all that fucking noise you were making,” Vantera countered. “Who the fuck are you talking to at this hour anyways?”

“Pyra,” he replied happily.

“Don’t see why you’re so happy about…” she trailed off, realization dawning on her face. “Holy shit she confessed! Or you confessed—whichever!”

Though she wasn’t smiling, Vantera’s face had lit up with something that could only be described as ‘glee’.

“We both sort of confessed,” Makaera laughed.

“Makaera, that’s great,” Vantera said, and she sounded sincere.

“Thanks, bro,” Makaera replied with an easy smile.

This was okay. He didn’t need to tell Vantera about his feelings yet. It could wait until this whole new relationship with Pyra settled down.

~

Half an hour later, Vantera was passed out in bed again and Pyra came swaggering through the door to their apartment, Justice at her heels.

“So what’s this you wanted to tell me?” Pyra asked, tossing a buttermilk biscuit to Justice. “About why you couldn’t tell Tera about your flushed feels?”

She flopped down on the couch and put her feet in Makaera’s lap, narrowly avoiding hitting his balls.

“Jegus, watch where you’re all up an’ swinging your motherfucking legs, Py,” Makaera said. “You nearly hit me in the motherfucking balls.”

Pyra grinned evilly and pressed her heel down into his groin, making him squeal and then growl at her.

“Calm your tits, clownass,” Pyra cackled.

Makaera gave her one more warning growl before settling back to get his story on.

“Well I guess it’s just something I think you should motherfucking know ‘bout our bro since you’re feeling all up and motherfucking pale for her,” he said. “See, Vee’s got some pretty motherfucking serious problems.”

Pyra snorted.

“I could’ve told you that much, dipshit.”

“Hah, yeah, I guess it ain’t a motherfucking secret,” Makaera laughed. “It’s just not many people all up an’ know how many motherfucking problems she’s got or how motherfucking bad they are.”

“Alright,” Pyra said. “Lay it on me!”

“You motherfucking asked for it!” Makaera said. “You all up and know that Vantera’s a motherfucking Seer of Words, which means she sees every motherfucking word being said or written within about a ten meter radius. And if she touches people, she can all up an’ see their whole motherfucking life story: how it all up and started and how it’s gonna motherfucking end.”

“Oh, so that’s why she doesn’t like being touched!” Pyra laughed.

“Exactly,” Makaera said. “Which reminds me, we should see if I can use any motherfucking chucklevoodoos to all up an’ tear up your life story so Vee can’t motherfucking read it. Anyways, because of her Seer powers, Vantera’s all up an’ got severe anxiety and depression. She cuts as a way of coping with it.”

Pyra frowned.

“Well, that’s not good,” she said.

“No, it’s not,” Makaera agreed. “But getting all up and upset or lecturing her about it just makes it motherfucking worse, so I haven’t been able to motherfucking rid her of the habit yet.”

“So this is what you were dealing with earlier?” Pyra asked.

“Yeah,” Makaera replied. “Came home and she was motherfucking bleeding all over the floor in her room. She was so motherfucking out of it she didn’t even notice me at first. Motherfucking scared the shit out of me.”

Pyra’s frown deepened.

As much as he hated her, Makaera had never been more glad to have someone to share this shit with before.

“Huh,” Pyra said. “Well, this is a conundrum, but I’m sure we can get past it!”

“I motherfucking hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what did you think? I'm more or less in love with this chapter. I think I portrayed Pyra PERFECTLY during her pesterchum conversation with Makaera. My gog they have a cute relationship <3
> 
> Anyways, what did you think about Vantera's anxiety attack? about her cutting herself? about Makaera finding her? about the way Makaera reacted? What about Makaera and Pyra's pesterchum convo? about their interactions once she came home?
> 
> Next chapter will introduce the main plotline!


	7. CHAPTER SIX: SHIT GETS FUCKED

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1 chapters are written with Vantera's (Karkat's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on introducing the characters, world building, and setting up the story line. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this is the chapter that finally introduces the main plot for the whole story! its taken me a long time to get it right (and it could still probably use some work), but here is the chapter where everything gets fucked! Hence the title. LOL
> 
> E N J O Y !

**CHAPTER SIX: SHIT GETS FUCKED**

Makaera blinked his eyes open and rolled over to look at the clock. It was already four in the afternoon. He had been asleep for almost twelve hours, while Vantera had been out for well over fourteen hours. In fact, she was still asleep, and didn’t show any signs of waking anytime soon.

Makaera rolled out of bed and landed gently on the floor. He padded over to the desk, which had both he and Vantera’s laptops sitting on it. Makaera planned to move the rest of his things out of his roommate’s room today, but until then he had to make do with Vantera and Pyra’s stuff.

Makaera pulled his computer towards him as he sat down in the chair and opened his laptop, powering it on. The screen turned dark blue for a minute, and then revealed the bloody rainbow that was Makaera’s screensaver. Makaera clicked on the link that would lead him to M.S. Paint Adventures and Homestuck. He needed to get caught up on reading and what better to do while Vantera slept than read Homestuck?

He was soon lost in the fascinating world of Homestuck and practically deaf to reality. He didn’t even notice Vantera tossing and turning in her sleep until she cried out loudly.

Makaera gave a start at the sudden noise and was pulled back to reality. His eyes fell on the tangled mess of sheets and limbs on the bed. Small whimpering noises were coming from the center of the tangle, and Makaera hastened to untangle his best friend.

Even after ruthlessly pulling her out of the tangled mass, Makaera was surprised to find that Vantera was still caught in her nightmare. She was making whimpering noises like those of a wounded dog.

Unsure of what to do, Makaera put a hand on Vantera’s shoulder and shook her gently, hoping to wake her.

“Hey,” he said, “wake up, motherfucker.”

Vantera made another whimpering noise and twitched a little, but otherwise did not react.

Makaera tried again, shaking a bit harder this time.

“Vantera… wake up!”

Vantera gave a violent shudder and curled into a tiny ball.

At this point, Makaera was beginning to panic. He had never seen Vantera have convulsions like these while she was sleeping and it frightened him. He didn’t know what to do.

Vantera gave another long, violent shudder, and then was still, her body falling completely limp and lifeless in Makaera’s arms.

If that wasn’t enough to make Makaera lose it, what happened next certainly was.

Vantera’s eyes flew open, her body became stiff as a board, and, in a gasping raspy voice that was definitely not her own, she said, “ _They are coming._ ”

“Who is coming?” Makaera asked.

“ _The Heroes_ ,” she said. “ _They are coming. They are coming soon._ ”

“Who are the motherfucking heroes?” Makaera asked, still panicking. “Where are they all up an’ coming from?”

Vantera continued as though she had not heard him.

“ _Many have died, few have survived,_ ” she said. “ _They flee an enemy they cannot defeat. They are coming. The Heroes are coming. The Enemy is coming. The apocalypse is near._ ”

With that, Vantera’s eyes shut again and she was once more limp in Makaera’s arms.

Makaera was now suitably freaked out and beyond reason. He felt as though there was a choking weight all around him. He was having a panic attack. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see… darkness was closing in around him.

And then it was free, the darkness Makaera kept locked away deep inside himself. It had somehow broken free of its bonds and was now surging through him, blocking his eyesight and choking off his air. Unless he let it go, he would suffocate.

Makaera released his hold on the darkness and was consumed by it.

He only hoped that Vantera would be able to stop him again like she had always done before.

However, how the fuck was she supposed to stop him when she was passed out on the motherfucking floor?

~

Pyra’s mother was a lawyer. She was the absolute best there is. There was absolutely nothing Pyra would rather do on a Sunday morning than watch her BAMF mom kick major ass in court. Pyra was going to be just like her when she grew up.

Today, Pyra’s mom was the prosecuting attorney. That was almost one hundred percent more badass than being the defense attorney. Especially when it was for criminals like this. For these kinds of criminals, both Pyra and her mom would have happily brought the gallows back to court.

Pyra was kind of surprised this guy had even managed to _find_ a lawyer.

The criminal on trial was accused of raping and killing a nine-year-old little girl. There wasn’t a whole lot of evidence on the case, but everyone agreed that this guy was guilty. There were absolutely no doubts on the matter. Pyra—and pretty much everyone else in the court house—was absolutely confident that her mom would win the case.

That’s probably why it came as such a shock when she lost.

The defending attorney had brought up the piece of evidence that pointed in the exact opposite direction, away from the accused.

After a long, hard debate about it, it was finally concluded that the rest of the evidence wasn’t secure enough and that this counter evidence was jarring enough to disprove everything else. All in all, there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the man was guilty.

The man put up an innocent act, exclaiming that _of course_ he couldn’t have committed the crime!—but Pyra knew better. She had taken off her shoes under her chair and, using the vibrations through the floor, she could practically feel his guilt pounding through his veins. Not to mention he _reeked_ of it.

However, Pyra couldn’t exactly speak up. No one but her mom would believe her if she told them what she knew. It simply wasn’t possible for the blind to see using vibrations in the ground and scents and tastes in the air. It was just Pyra being an attention seeking brat. They would never believe it was because Pyra was a Knight of Mind.

And because Pyra couldn’t speak up, she had to sit there and smell the embarrassment and shame that rolled off her mother after losing such an important case. Pyra knew what she was thinking. How could she have possibly lost? The evidence was all there! Where had she gone wrong?

Not to mention the rest of the people in the courthouse. Pyra could smell anger wafting off of them. How could Prosecutor Teraz lose such an important case? Now there’s a child molester running free!

Pyra buried her face in her hands. She didn’t want to hear these things about her awesome and beautiful mother. She didn’t want to hear about how her mom had shamed herself by losing to an amateur defense attorney.

This was the worst day in the history of ‘no-good-very-bad-days’.

~

Serka hated everyone and everything, except anything spider related. Serka _loved_ spiders.

Serka hadn’t always hated everything, though. She had started out pretty normal, but then she started doing things that her friends didn’t like. She hung out with the wrong crowds at school and did a lot of things that weren’t very nice.

And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, Serka had also been the cause of the “Incident.” It was the incident that had taken Night’s legs and nearly cost him his life. She had forced him into skiing down the ‘Black Diamonds’ hill at the ski resort, and as a result, Night had been paralyzed from the waist down.

Serka knew her actions were unforgivable, so she didn’t even bother to try and apologize. She tried to make up for it in other ways, like becoming the RA of Night’s dorm and helping him out every chance she got.

Serka really wanted to make up for all her past mistakes, but she wasn’t sure how to apologize. She wasn’t even sure how any of her friends still tolerated having her around. All she did was make messes and hurt people.

That afternoon, Serka was playing with her magic eight ball and her eight sided dice, trying to predict the future. The answer was always the same, but it never made any sense.

Serka would roll her lucky dice and ask the magic eight ball a question, then use the dice to help her read the answer. It was always the same.

“What do you mean ‘The world is ending’??” Serka demanded, shaking the eight ball violently.

 _Ask me later_ , was the eight ball’s response.

“NO! TELL ME _NOW!!_ ”

 _No_.

“ARRRRGGGHH!!!!” Serka screamed and threw the eight ball at the wall, shouting triumphantly when it smashed into little pieces, and then screaming in horror when she realized what she had done.

It’s really bad luck to break an eight ball. Especially if it doesn’t break into eight pieces. Serka wasn’t sure about the eight pieces part, because she just made that up, but she knew it was bad luck to break an eight ball. Anyone should know that. It’s common knowledge!

Serka jumped up and ran to get another eight ball. As she was crossing the room, she stepped on one of her dice in her bare feet.

Using every curse word known to man, Serka hobbled across the room to her desk. Just as she sat down to tend to her wounded foot, there was an earthquake-like trembling that shook the entire building.

It couldn’t be possible. They didn’t get earthquakes there. The only thing that could have caused an earthquake where no earthquakes occur would be Serka’s incredibly bad luck.

“Just my luck,” Serka grumbled.

~

Ampro and Peix sat in the living room, huddled around their laptop, listening to their parent’s incredibly bad news. Their parents had put a lot of money into a new stock share recently, listening to the advice of their stockbroker.

However, the unforeseeable had happened. Skia Agency had completely crashed, causing the Roan family to lose quite a bit of money. It wasn’t too bad. They were still quite rich. However, to Ampro, who had never known a day where he couldn’t spend thousands of dollars on whatever suited his fancy, it was practically the end of the world.

For Peix, it was terrible because they had to sell her aquarium. She had used to go there every day to swim with the fishes and entertain little kids. It wasn’t even a job! She just did it because it was fun. However, they no longer had the money to maintain the pricey aquarium, and were forced to sell it. Peix didn’t think she had ever been more broken-hearted.

~

Captor left Megida to her own devices that morning. He was busy checking out program that had popped up on her computer the other day. Megida had asked him to look at it, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t play around with it a bit first.

Captor knew better than to just run an unidentified program, so he hacked it to find out a little more about it. However, the program was not giving up very many clues. The most he could tell was that it came from a game of some sort, but it wasn’t any game that Captor had ever heard of.

In addition to being an unbeatable hacker, Captor was also a distinguished gamer. He had played practically every game known to man and hacked all their codes. He would have recognized the game if he had played it before.

Captor’s guess was that this was a new game that hadn’t even been released to the public yet. In his eagerness to be the first to play the game, Captor almost forgot the first rule of hacking: Never run a program until you are absolutely sure what it does.

Luckily, Captor remembered this just before he ran the program and stopped himself. He resumed hacking it to gain more intel.

A few hours later, just a few minutes past four in the afternoon, Captor was satisfied that the program was nothing more than an unidentified game. It probably carried a few viruses, but Captor was certain that he could handle them. He could probably even finish developing the game and send copies to all his friends so they could play with him.

A smile on his face, Captor ran the program.

~

Megida had always been able to hear the voices of dead people. It was like that movie The Sixth Sense. Dead people all flocked to her, trying to get her to help them. Megida didn’t want to help them. They were dead. The least they could do is just leave her alone.

But they didn’t. They would never leave her alone, as long as Megida could hear them. She had learned to live with it.

However, they were different today. They seemed louder, more insistent. They wanted Megida’s attention and they would never shut up until they had it.

Megida tried to focus on other things; the pain of the razor against her skin, the cold air rushing over her hot blood, but the voices just wouldn’t go away, no matter what she did.

At last, at a quarter to four, Megida turned her attention on them and asked them what in the world could be so important that they had to pester her about it.

The answer she received was not in the least reassuring.

_There are people coming… people coming—that should not—they are coming… they should not be here. It is—horror terrors—is a mistake… they should… never have come. Horror terrors… destroy us all—destroy the world… this is—horror terrors are coming to destroy us all!—This is the end._

They were all talking at the same time. It did not make any sense and, almost as soon as she had made herself vulnerable to the dead, Megida shut them out again.

“If you can’t learn to speak one at a time, the least you can do is leave me alone,” Megida snarled, putting in her headphones and cranking up the volume on her iPod to drown out their voices.

~

“I can’t believe you could even think that!” Lezha practically screamed at the top of her lungs.

She and Zahhak were currently in the middle of the worst fight that had ever existed.

“And _what_ makes that so difficult to believe?!” Zahhak retorted. “You. Could. Have. _Died!_ Why can’t you see that?!”

“I’m not a baby, dumbass!” Lezha snarled back. “I’m not _weak!_ ”

“And that gives you the right to run around the worst parts of town at two in the morning?!”

In case it wasn’t clear, the subject being fought over was Lezha’s ability to take care of herself. Having had one too many drinks at the after party, Lezha had decided she was bored and was going to make her own fun. She left the club without telling anyone and walked to the worst parts of town in order to pick a fight and test her strength.

She had gotten into a fight with a couple criminals, but before the fight could even really kick off, Zahhak had appeared and ‘saved’ her ‘weak, stupid ass’. Obviously, there had been some carelessly spoken words.

If that wasn’t enough, both Lezha and Zahhak were feeling highly embarrassed about the kiss that had happened the night before, each of them believing that it was just an act of drunken stupidity to the other and that they regretted it. That was probably the root of all the angry feelings between the two.

“YOU DIDN”T HAVE TO GO PURRTEND TO BE A HERO AND _‘SAVE’_ ME!!!!!” Lezha screeched.

Zahhak was at the end of his rope.

He grabbed Lezha’s arm, perhaps a little more roughly than intended, and yanked her towards him.

“You are an immature, little meowbeast that needs to learn her place,” he snarled in a dangerously low voice.

Lezha ignored the warning and hissed in his face, trying to wrench her arm from his grasp.

_SNAP!_

Oops.

Zahhak’s grasp had tightened unintentionally as Lezha struggled and he accidentally broke her arm. He had broken the bone like a toothpick between his fingers. It was really gross too. The bone was sticking out of her arm and blood was _everywhere_.

Lezha stared down at her arm bemusedly, like she wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking at. Then, she screamed bloody murder when she finally figured it out.

Panicking, Zahhak tore off his shirt and tried to use it to mop up the blood, sobbing “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” as he did so.

Lezha sobbed and curled in on herself, totally despondent to Zahhak, but the pain wasn’t the reason she was crying. In fact, it didn’t even really hurt anymore, if it had ever hurt. She cried because Zahhak had broken her arm like a toothpick, effectively proving just how weak she really was.

Pulling the shirt away once it was totally soiled with blood, Zahhak gasped in surprise at what he saw.

The wound was gone, like it had never been there. The bones were healed and the skin was sealed up, good as new. Zahhak didn’t understand how it could possibly have happened.

He was even more confused as to why Lezha continued to sob and wail as if she were dying.

~

Night loved animals. All kinds of animals. Especially dogs. He really loved dogs.

Night had always wanted a disability dog, but his dad just didn’t make enough money as a zookeeper. They had to get by with what they had.

However, that didn’t stop Night from going to college to become a Vet Tech. It also didn’t stop him from getting a job at the local animal shelter. Being poor could never keep Night from following his dream.

His lack of self-confidence, however, certainly could.

Night had never been very confident, and Serka’s frequent jabs did absolutely nothing to help, however harmlessly she meant them. The very smallest of things could absolutely shatter his confidence, and it took quite a bit to build it back up again.

Night was pretty confident at his ability to handle animals, though. He had never once had an animal turn on him. They all loved him dearly.

So when the animal shelter got a dog that was more vicious than most, Night took on the challenge of taming the beast. He couldn’t get through to the animal though, and it just got worse and worse. Night couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it and returned home feeling more and more dejected each day.

When Night rolled in Sunday afternoon, his heart shattered. The vicious dog, whom Night had named Rex, had been diagnosed with rabies and was going to be put down. Night knew that rabies would make it dangerous for anyone to be around the dog, and the best thing they could do for it was put it down, but he couldn’t help feeling like it was his fault. Like he had let Rex down.

When the life left Rex’s eyes, Night’s confidence died with it.

~

Maryam waited outside the operation room, pacing restlessly and shaking off any nurse who tried to get her to sit down. Why couldn’t they understand that she _couldn’t_ sit down? Not until she learned the fate of her dear Leo.

After the party, Leo had driven them home, despite the fact he was so drunk he couldn’t walk straight. Maryam supposed it had been a pretty shitty decision. Why hadn’t she stopped him? Oh, right. Because she was drunk too.

A flash of light, the scream of metal on metal, and suddenly the car was wrapped around a pole, and Maryam was standing outside of it.

She couldn’t really remember anything after that, because she passed out. But she did remember the sight of blood on the windshield, obscuring her sight of Leo.

Somehow, Maryam had walked away from the accident with nothing more than a scratch. It was a miracle.

Leo, on the other hand… well, they weren’t sure if he would make it. They had been in surgery for _hours_. Maryam hadn’t even known it was possible to spend nine fucking hours operating on someone. She couldn’t be impatient, though. They were trying to save Leo’s life.

At three thirty, a doctor finally came out of the operation room. Maryam knew the outcome by the look on his face, but she kept her own face blank, needing to hear it for herself.

“I’m sorry, Miss Kyana,” the doctor said. “He didn’t make it.”

Maryam broke down.

~

At four fifteen in the afternoon on Sunday October 27th, the University that Vantera and her friends were attending suffered a terrible blow. Most blamed it on an earthquake, but the quake hadn’t been noticed by any of the scientists who studied earthquakes. However, they didn’t really have any other excuse for how the University had suddenly been smashed to bits. It wasn’t as if aliens from another dimension had come through a wormhole and destroyed the University.

If only they knew.

At four fifteen in the afternoon on Sunday October 27th, that is precisely what happened.

A group of aliens, eight of them resembling human teenagers, two of them resembling dogs, six resembling humans with grey skin and horns, five ghostly beings—who all promptly turned into bizarre humans—a bunch of bubbles containing numerous versions of all three, a white cat, a giant, red spacecraft, and a green monster with crazy eyes, landed in the middle of the University.

The green skinned monster was gone before anyone noticed it; the bubbles disappeared, though they continued to hover around and assault people in their sleep; the alien on the ship flew away after destroying half the University; the two dog aliens carrying the human-like girl and flew away after the cat, one of the other human-like boys, hot on their tails. The rest of the aliens sat around in the snow, looking around them and seeming completely bewildered.

After a short time, they seemed to decide to get out of the open and made their way to the building across the street, which happened to be Vantera and Makaera’s apartment.

Fate has a funny way of doing things, sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you guys think? about each of the characters unfortunate events? about the order I put the events in? about this whole chapter in general? predictions for the future? anybody got any guesses as to WHY this shit got so royally fucked? Think its one of the human's faults? which one and why? Thinks its for some other reason? what and why? I WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!!!


	8. CHAPTER SEVEN: WHAT THE FUCK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter of Act 1! Act 1 chapters are written with Vantera's (Karkat's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on introducing the characters, world building, and setting up the story line. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay chapter seven!! I had to edit this chapter SOOOOOOOO many times before I actually felt halfway satisfied with it :/ Im probably still gonna have to get my editor to look at this chapter for me because SO MUCH BULLSHIT! there were so many things I wanted to explain or at least allude to, but I couldn't fit it all in one chapter!! Anyways
> 
> E N J O Y !

**CHAPTER SEVEN: WHAT THE FUCK**

The sixteen remaining party members sat and stood around for quite some time, all of them unsure as to what the hell had just happened to them. The only person who seemed to have taken it in stride was Dave, who had jumped up to chase after the Bec Noirs and Jade only seconds after being dumped on this strange knew world. Even Dirk was having a meltdown of sorts, though it was all happening inside his head and was entirely invisible on the outside.

Karkat was sitting on the ground, his mouth hanging open, and staring around at the vast devastation that had been inflicted upon the world at their arrival. Gamzee was lying in a snowbank next to him, covered from head to toe in purple—much of it his own blood. Terezi was a little ways away from him, a bright red scarf covering her eyes and teal blood spilling from the numerous wounds she had. Kanaya, like Karkat, was sitting up and looking around at the new world with a highly confused expression on her face. Aranea seemed slightly better off than the rest of them—she was standing at least—and she looked the least likely to freak out. Rose was also standing, with a calm but rather curious look on her face. Roxy was sprawled out in another snowbank, and it was quite possible she had passed out. Jake was having a minor panic attack—partially due to the amount of hope powers he had used up—and had curled up in the fetal position on the ground. Jane was sitting next to him, completely expressionless, as she was still under the control of Her Imperial Condescension. John, ever the adventurer, was already up and about, exploring the new world. Curiously enough, he wasn’t using his windy powers to gain a higher altitude and have a better look around. The sprites were also standing around, though rather than inspecting their surroundings, they were inspecting their bodies, which had been returned to a more humanoid form.

After several minutes of shocked silence, it was no surprise when Karkat spoke up first.

“WHAT. THE. FUCK,” he stated in his usual loud and ornery voice.

“Ohh, not sho loud,” Roxy moaned, flapping a hand at him.

“FUCK YOU,” Karkat snapped, obviously distressed.

“Awe, don’t be mean, Karkat,” John said, sweeping up behind Karkat and throwing his arms around his neck.

“ARRGGH!” Karkat squawked, wriggling out of the embrace. “JOHN, GET THE FUCK OFF ME RIGHT THIS FUCKING SECOND OR I SWEAR I’LL—“

“Empty threats,” John scoffed, knowing perfectly well what Karkat was like. He loved the crabby troll, but—damn!—Karkat sure had a set of lungs!

“FUCK YOU, EGDERP.”

“Do you think this could be another part of the game?” Rose speculated, having ignored the entire previous shenanigans entirely.

“I DON’T FUCKING KNOW,” Karkat replied irritably. “THERE WASN’T ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN OUR SESSION. OR YOUR SESSION FOR THAT MATTER.”

“Motherfucking miracles,” Gamzee said. “HONK!”

“You shed it!” Roxy slurred and giggled.

“It kind of looks like our Earth,” Rose continued. “Before it was blown up by meteors.”

“Maybe it _is_ our Earth!” John said excitedly.

Rose shrugged.

“It could be,” she agreed, “but I somehow get the feeling it’s not.”

“Yeah,” John sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. Then, he brightened and said, “Still, it’s fun to imagine!”

Good old John, ever the optimist in a sea of pessimists. Nothing got him down.

“Well,” said Kanaya, getting to her feet and brushing off her skirt—nobody was really sure why she tried so hard to keep clean anymore, “I suppose we can’t just stay here in the snow. We ought to see if we can talk to some of the locals and find out where we are.”

Everyone else more or less agreed with that, so they began going around and helping people up. Karkat moved towards Gamzee almost instinctively, but changed direction mid step and went to Terezi’s side. Rose and Kanaya began attempting to haul Roxy to her feet, but they were having quite a bit of trouble. Jane stood up on her own and no one moved to speak with her. Aranea began trying to coax Jake to his feet, but that just ended up making things worse. She helped Gamzee up instead—she found it quite strange that she could no longer control Gamzee’s mind. Perhaps this was some sort of challenge they had to overcome? If that was the case, then why was she affected? She wasn’t even a player in this Session. In the end, the one to calm Jake down enough for him to stand up was Dirk and, even when he did finally stand, Jake continued leaning on him and clutching his cape—though Dirk didn’t really seem to mind.

“ALRIGHT, WE’RE UP,” Karkat said. “NOW WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE GOING?”

Rose raised a delicate eyebrow.

“I was going to ask you that, oh great leader,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “ _But_ , since you asked, let’s go that way.” She pointed in the direction that God Cat, the two Bec Noirs, and Dave had gone in, each of them chasing the other. “That’s the direction Dave went in, and it could lead us closer to him. I get the feeling that it’s not really safe to be running around alone in this world anyways.”

“RIGHT,” said Karkat.

“Hey, John,” Kanaya said, “could you fly up a little ways and see if you can see them anywhere? It would be helpful to know if they are still headed in that direction.”

John blushed bright red and stammered, “I-uh, I can’t actually use my windy powers right now.”

“WHAT?!” snarled Karkat, snapping his head around.

John just shrugged. It’s not like he knew the answer to that anyways.

“I am also unable to use my God Tier powers,” Rose added, looking slightly miffed at this revelation.

One by one, the rest of the party tried using their powers and were forced to confirm that none of them were even God Tier anymore.

“Well this complicates things a little,” Rose said finally, frowning.

“WE STILL CAN’T JUST SIT AROUND HERE AND WAIT FOR THE HORROR-TERRORS TO GET US,” Karkat said.

“Lower yer voice, Karkittty,” Roxy said, rubbing her temples. “My head hurts.”

“FUCK YOU… AGAIN,” Karkat snarled, though he did lower his voice after that.

“I agree with Karkat,” Kanaya said, “on the fact that we really can’t just sit around here talking. We ought to at least find out where in the medium we are.”

“I don’t think we’re actually in the medium anymore, Kanaya,” Rose said softly. “Why else would we no longer be able to access our God Tier abilities?”

“I don’t know,” Kanaya admitted. “Weird time shenanigans?”

Rose chuckled.

“Maybe.”

The group started moving in the direction their other companions had gone in, going slowly due to injured members of the party.

“Hey,” Karkat said suddenly, stopping at the side of the road, “doesn’t that building look kind of like the one where we lived on the meteor?”

He was looking at an apartment building across the street that had somehow managed to escape damage. It was a dark grey building that looked almost identical to the one they had spent so many years on from the outside.

“It does,” Rose agreed, “but I don’t think it’s the same one. The sign on the front says it’s a University Apartment Building.”

“What’s a University?” Kanaya asked.

“College,” Rose elaborated. “It’s where we human kids go to get a better education and decide what we’re going to do with our lives.”

“Interesting,” said Kanaya.

“Sounds stupid,” Karkat said, though he still looked like he wanted to go to that building.

He took a step out onto the road, but John grabbed his arm and hauled him back.

“Whoa, Kar,” he said. “You can’t just go wandering out into the street like that.”

“Why the fuck not?” Karkat asked.

A mischievous grin spread across John’s face.

“Because,” he said, “cars are vicious monsters that will run you over with no second thoughts if you get in their way!”

“You lie,” Karkat scoffed, stepping onto the street.

At that moment, there was a loud honk and a bright red car swerved to avoid hitting Karkat. It honked at them again for good measure before speeding away.

Karkat looked like he might be frozen in that spot for the rest of eternity.

“I told you so,” John said, before dissolving into fits of boisterous giggles.

John’s laughter was sort of infectious and, soon, everyone was smiling and chuckling. Even Dirk cracked a rare smile.

“I am never crossing a street again,” Karkat said.

John just laughed and grabbed his arm, dragging him across the street, despite Karkat’s objections.

“Come on, Kar,” he said cheerfully. “I bet you’ll be glad you crossed the street once we get to that building over there. Besides, you can’t stay in the middle of that war zone forever!”

~

When Vantera opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the underside of the desk. For a moment, she blearily wondered why she was laying on the floor.

Vantera sat up and looked around. What she saw did not comfort her in the slightest. The room had been practically torn to shreds. The boxes that had been moved over were all tipped on their sides, and their contents were strewn across the room.

At first glance Vantera didn’t see Makaera anywhere. However, the door was still closed tightly with a large box tipped over in front of it. That meant Makaera had to still be in here somewhere.

After a few minutes, Vantera found him in the corner of the room, behind some of the larger boxes that hadn’t been tipped over. His untrimmed nails had left claw marks on the walls and his arms were bloody where he had scratched at them. It appeared that he had passed out again when the rage had passed, though Vantera was confused as to why it hadn’t woken her up.

“Hey… Shithead,” Vantera said, slapping his cheek lightly to wake him.

Makaera’s eyes blinked open sleepily.

The first thing he noticed was that Vantera had worn his shirt to bed the night before. He grinned at how adorable she looked in the huge shirt.

“Morning, Karbro,” he mumbled.

Vantera sighed and rolled her eyes.

“It’s not morning anymore so get up, Fuckass,” she said, shaking him to keep him from falling asleep again.

Makaera yawned and opened his eyes again.

He looked around at his surroundings and suddenly his eyes snapped into focus.

“Shit,” he said.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Vantera agreed. “What the fuck happened?”

“I don’t even motherfucking know,” Makaera admitted. “You had a—a motherfucking attack of some kind. You said…” he frowned, trying to remember, “you said ‘the heroes are coming’ or something like that. Then you went all limp and motherfucking cold and I got scared.”

“So you fucking went all rage mode over it?” Vantera scowled.

Makaera smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he said softly.

“It’s okay,” Vantera sighed. “Just help me clean the place up.”

After Vantera pulled on a pair of pants and a new shirt and Makaera found one of his own shirts to wear, they started picking up all of the things that had been thrown around the room during Makaera’s fit of rage. Some of Vantera’s stuff had been broken, but she tossed it away without so much as blinking. It was just stuff. None of it meant anything to her.

“Do you think you could have been having a motherfucking prophesy?” Makaera asked as they sorted through the mess.

“Maybe,” Vantera replied. “Hey, shithead, come help me with this box.”

Together they managed to tip the box blocking the door right side up. Almost immediately, they heard a knock on Vantera’s door.

“Hey, Tera, you awake yet?” Pyra asked.

“Yeah, what the fuck do you want?” Vantera growled.

“Got something you and Maka might wanna see.”

Vantera sighed in annoyance.

She pulled open the door and followed Pyra into the living room, Makaera trailing after her, glad for an excuse to stop cleaning.

Vantera’s mouth dropped open when she saw what was in the living room.

Before her, in the middle of her living room, sat the remainder of the living cast of Homestuck. Karkat, Kanaya, Jane, Aranea, Jake, Gamzee, Terezi, Roxy, Rose, John, and Dirk were sitting on her living room couch. She couldn’t say where Dave and Jade were, but she assumed they must be here too, if everyone else was. Beside the eleven humans stood what Vantera assumed were the five remaining sprites. Davesprite, Nannasprite, Jaspersprite, Arquiusprite, and Erisolsprite. They had been returned to a humanoid form, though she couldn’t say why.

Vantera stood with her mouth gaping open for several minutes. Beside her, Makaera did the same.

He looked at Gamzee, his absolute favorite character. Gamzee was covered in purple blood, but he looked like he was pretty chill about it. Knowing him, he was probably so high he didn’t even notice the pain. _He is so awesome_.

Finally, Vantera found her voice.

“What. _The fuck_. Is going on here?” she said in a voice dripping with venom.

“I could ask you the same question,” Karkat said in his obnoxiously loud voice.

They glared at each other for a few minutes, each one sizing the other up. They were both about the same height, but Karkat’s horns and enormous amount of hair gave him maybe an inch over Vantera. That didn’t mean shit, though. Not when Vantera’s strife specibus was armed with a four-thousand page textbook.

It was Rose who broke the tension filled silence that had grown between the two cancers.

“Well,” she said, “We’re not really sure ourselves. It would seem to me that we’ve somehow been sucked through a wormhole and into another world, but we don’t know how we got here. We also don’t know where we are. We were really hoping you could tell us that. Is this part of the game? Is it a quest of some sort that we have to complete? Or is this someplace else entirely?”

Vantera blinked at her.

“You have a lot of questions,” she deadpanned.

“I could certainly ask more.”

“Please don’t. I honestly don’t fucking think my thinkpan can take much more.”

John and Rose both stared blankly at Vantera for a second.

Finally, Rose said, “You are human, correct?”

“Uh, yeah?” Vantera replied.

“Okay,” Rose said. “Just checking.”

Vantera suddenly understood. In her distress, she had accidentally let the word ‘thinkpan’ slip out, something that was generally used by trolls to describe their brain. She contemplated telling this to Rose, but soon kicked that idea to the side. Her following explanation would probably clear things up anyways.

“Well, to answer your question, I’m pretty damn sure you’re not in the medium anymore,” Vantera began. “You’re currently in the middle of Fucking Nowhere, Nebraska—that is to say; EARTH. I don’t know how you got here, but according to this clown-ass I predicted it with some sort of creepy prophesy in my sleep not even _five fucking minutes_ before you guys got dropped into our world and _SHIT GOT FUCKED_.”

“WELL THAT EXPLAINS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING,” Karkat snarled.

“I’M SORRY I’M NOT A FUCKING SEER OF SPACE THAT KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU FUCKING BULGELICKER!” Vantera roared.

“She says she’s not an alien, and yet, troll words keep spilling out of her mouth,” Rose said, looking somewhat amused.

Vantera sighed and rubbed her temples.

“Alright, Pyra?” Vantera said in a strained voice. “Could you take over the fucking explanation from here? I’m gonna go fucking pester Captor. And everyone else for that matter.”

“What?” said Pyra. “But, Tera, you’re the Seer! You know more about what’s going on than I do!”

“Just answer the questions you can and make them save the others for me,” Vantera said, already moving back towards her room.

“Welp! I guess it’s time to ask the Knight a bunch of shitty questions and expect her to have the answers!” Pyra said cheerfully, even as she was glaring at Vantera’s retreating back.

Entering her room, Vantera was greeted with the mess the Makaera had made. Luckily, he hadn’t touched either of their computers—those would have cost a lot of money to replace. Vantera powered on her computer and opened up pesterchum.

 

killerKarkat [KK]  began pestering  technoNerd [TN] 

KK: HEY WE GOT A PROBLEM OVER HERE  
KK: YOU THERE?  
KK: SERIOUSLY SOUL WE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF YOUR ADVICE.  
KK: THERE’S A SHIT TONE OF HOMESTUCK HAPPENING IN MY LIVING ROOM AND MAKAERA, PYRA, AND I CAN’T HANDLE IT ON OUR OWN.  
KK: I’M ASSUMING YOU’RE TOO BUSY WITH SOMETHING ELSE AT THE MOMENT SINCE YOU’RE USUALLY BETTER AT GETTING BACK TO ME RIGHT AWAY.  
KK: EITHER THAT OR YOUR COMPUTER EXPLODED.  
KK: EITHER’S POSSIBLE I GUESS.  
KK: ANYWAYS MESSAGE ME AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS MESSAGE.  
KK: PREFERABLY SOONER THAN THAT.

killerKarkat [KK]  ceased pestering  technoNerd [TN] 

 

Next, Vantera decided it would be a good idea to inform everyone in their group, so she opened up a discussion memo through pesterchum.

 

killerKarkat [KK]  opened a memo in FUCKING HOMESTUCK

KK: IF YOU GUYS DON’T RESPOND TO THIS MEMO IN ABOUT 60 SECONDS I’M GONNA DO A FUCKING ACROBATIC PIROUETTE OFF THE HANDLE.  
KK: AND I HOPE YOU ALL APPRECIATE THE HOMESTUCK REFERANCE.

spiderificDiva [SD]  responded to the memo

SD: heyyyyyyyy tera!!!!!!!! ::::)  
SD: whats got your panties in a twist?

KK: YOU’LL FIND OUT SHORTLY   
KK: I WANT EVERYONE ELSE ON HERE BEFORE I START  
KK: BESIDES CM AND JS CAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON  
KK: I WANT TO AVOID HAVING TO REPEAT MYSELF.

SD: well then  
SD: did some8ody die in Homestuck again?

KK: WHAT? NO   
KK: I’M ALREADY UP TO THE FUCKING HIATUS  
KK: IF SOMEBODY DIED DURING THE HIATUS THAT WOULD SERIOUSLY BE A FUCKING MIRACLE

timeLord [TL]  responded to the memo

TL: i w0nder if this has anything t0 d0 with the multitude of v0ices i was subjected t0 hearing earlier.

SD: even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn’t a good sign

TL: l0l  
TL: g00d 0ne

SD: th8nks! ::::)

Cuddlefish [CC]  responded to the memo

CC: Is anyon—E  –Els—E )(aving as bad a day as m—E?

SD: i stepped on d8ce in my 8are feet this morning

KK: I CAN PROBABLY SYMPATHIZE WITH YOU  
KK: THOUGH I DOUBT YOUR PROBLEMS COULD POSSIBLY COMPARE WITH MINE

SD: jeeeeeeeeze insensitive much????????

TL: yes tera i believe y0u missed y0ur exit int0 bitch t0wn

SD: hahahahahahahaha yeeeeeeeessssssss!!!!!!!! ::::)

KK: FUCK YOU

CC: }8-(

royalBuffoon [RB]  responded to the memo

RB: i don’t mind you being a bitch on most days, but could you tone it dowwn a little?  
RB: peix and i aren’t exactly havving the best day

TL: apparently n0 0ne is 0.0

SD: what the h8ll is with everyone having ultra horri8le, super terri8le, no good, very 8ad days?

TL: were all cursed

hoofbeastTamer [HT]  responded to the memo

HT: D--> Lezha and I are most definitely not in the mood for such 100ducris activities as talking to you idiots.

kittensWrath [KW]  responded to the memo

KW: :33 < you liar!  
KW: :33 < i am in purrfectly good condition to have a confurrsation with my furriends about our no good furry bad days!

HT: D--> Lezha, I must insist that you stop such tomfoolery at once and allow me to take you to an emergency room.

KW: :33 < im fine!!!  
KW: :33 < s33???? no broken bones!

CC: W)(y would Kats bones b—E brok—En?  
CC: I am v—Ery confus—Ed }8-(

rocketlauncherWheelchair [RW]  responded to the memo

RW: uH, i SUPPOSE THIS WOULD BE A BAD TIME TO TELL EVERYONE THAT, uHH, mY DOG JUST DIED AND iM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS,,   
RW: bUT, uH, iM GONNA SAY IT ANYWAYS,,  
RW: i, uHH, hOPE YOU DONT MIND,,

KK: I’M SO FUCKING SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS   
KK: BUT ACTUALLY I DO MIND  
KK: CAUSE THIS KINDA INVOLVES YOU TOO  
KK: NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO LEAVE THIS MEMO WITHOUT MY SAY SO.

technoNerd [TN]  responded to the memo

TN: 2orry iit took me 2o long two re2pond two the memo

KK: WHAT THE FUCK TOOK YOU SO LONG?

TN: my computer exploded and ii couldn’t fiind my cellphone

TL: 0h s0 THATS what that n0ise was!  
TL: i c0uldnt f0r the life 0f me figure 0ut what the hell was g0ing 0n in there

TN: iim 2urprii2ed you could even hear iit, what wiith the way you alway2 turn the volume on your iipod up 2o hiigh

bigMamma [BM]  responded to the memo

BM: I Believe That I Am The Last One Required To Get Down To Business With This Memo.  
BM: Tera? Take Us Away, Please.

SD: yeah the sooner you start, the sooner the rest of us can get 8ack to moping a8out how 8ad all of our d8ys are!

KK: SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU BUT I DOUBT YOU’LL WANT TO GO BACK TO MOPING AFTER YOU HEAR WHAT I’VE GOT TO SAY.   
KK: SHIT HAS GONE DOWN AND EVERYTHING IS FUCKED  
KK: AND I MEAN THAT IN THE MOST LITERAL WAY POSSIBLE

BM: Out With It Already.

KK: HOMESTUCK JUST TOOK A FUCKING DIVE OFF THE DEEP END   
KK: THROUGH A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL PORTAL  
KK: AND LANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING CAMPUS  
KK: AND APPARANTLY I PREDICTED THEIR COMING THROUGH WEIRD AND CREEPY SLEEP PROPHESIES.

TN: iim 2orry ii dont thiink ii follow  
TN: what ii2 iit youre trying to 2ay?

KK: THAT WASN’T STRAIGHT-FORWARD ENOUGH FOR YOU NOOKSNIFFERS?  
KK: FINE.  
KK: KARKAT VANTAS, TEREZI PYROPE, GAMZEE-FUCKING-MAKARA, KANAYA MARYAM, ARANEA SERKET, JOHN EGDERP, ROSE LALONDE, ROXY LALONDE, JAKE ENGLISH, DIRK STRIDER, JANE CROCKER, AND ALL THE REMAINING SPRITES  
KK: ARE SITTING IN MY FUCKING LIVING ROOM  
KK: AS WE FUCKING SPEAK.

TN: waiit, WHAT??

BM: You Aren’t Exaggerating, Are You?

SD: 8ullshit!!!!!!!!

KW: :33 < COOL!!

HT: D--> Not cool!

RB: i find my enthusiasm for this convversation greatly dwwindled upon discovvering that eridan ampora’s name wwas not among the ones you listed.

KK: I’M NOT FUCKING LYING EXAGGERATING OR BULLSHITTING YOU GUYS   
KK: AND ROAN I DON’T KNOW SO I CAN’T PROMISE YOU ANYTHING BUT I THINK THE DREAMBUBBLES CAME THROUGH TOO SO YOU’LL PROBABLY STILL SEE ERIDAN AT SOME POINT  
KK: ANYWAYS, I WANT YOU GUYS TO GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE RIGHT NOW  
KK: REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING WERE DOING OR WERE GOING TO DO.  
KK: I NEED YOUR HELP EXPLAINING TO THESE NOOKWHIFFERS WHERE THEY ARE.  
KK: IT’S ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT IF YOU ASK ME.

BM: At Any Other Time, I Would Be Most Delighted To Help.   
BM: However, At The Present Moment, I Am Going Through A Very Traumatic Experience.  
BM: Leo Is Dead.

KK: OH SHIT…  
KK: I’M SORRY ):B

BM: Thank You For Your Condolences.   
BM: As Such, I Will Be Unable To Make It To This Meeting.  
BM: Please Say Hi To Kanaya And Rose For Me, Will You?

bigMamma [BM]  ceased responding to the memo

KK: WELL SHIT  
KK: I HOPE NOBODY ELSE IS SUFFERING FROM THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE BECAUSE NOW I FEEL LIKE A TOTAL TOOL

RW: uHHH, nEED i REMIND YOU THAT MY DOG DIED?

KK: WAS IT ACTUALLY YOUR DOG OR JUST A DOG FROM THE ANIMAL SHELTER?

RW: uH, iT WAS A DOG FROM THE ANIMAL SHELTER,,  
RW: iT, uHHH, hAD RABIES SO THEY HAD TO PUT IT DOWN,,

KK: WELL THEN THEY WERE DOING HUMANITY A FAVOR  
KK: RABIES IS A NIGHTMARE  
KK: THOUGH I SUPPOSE I’M SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS ANYWAYS.  
KK: ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A DECENT EXCUSE?  
KK: NO?  
KK: GOOD.  
KK: GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE PRONTO.

killerKarkat [KK]  closed the memo

 

Vantera made her way back into the living room, just catching the end of what seemed to be a very long speech on Pyra’s part.

“Okay, I’m back,” Vantera snapped. “What the fuck did I miss?”

“Nothing really,” Pyra replied with a grin. “But apparently nobody has their Got Tier powers anymore and the sprites no longer have their sprite-y powers.”

 “Well, that’s just great,” Vantera grumbled. “Just fucking great. What else could fucking go wrong?”

“Jade and Dave are missing,” Davesprite added.

“THAT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION DUMBASS I DIDN’T ACTUALLY WANT ANYONE TO ANSWER IT!”

“Heh heh, she could give you a run for your money, Karkat,” John laughed. “She’s almost louder and bossier than you.”

“NO ONE IS LOUDER OR BOSSIER THAN ME!” Karkat snapped.

“SIT THE FUCK DOWN, KARKAT, BEFORE YOU MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF,” Vantera shouted.

“I DARE YOU TO FUCKING MAKE ME SIT DOWN!”

“Oh, don’t tempt me,” Vantera’s voice returned to normal volume, which somehow made it seem more threatening.

Karkat sat down with an almost frightened look.

“Your names are highly similar to Karkat, Terezi, and Gamzee’s last names,” Kanaya said once things had settled down again.

“Hah, maybe they’re like alternate reality versions of us, or something,” Dirk laughed. “Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.”

“Well… I guess we kind of are?” Vantera said. “See, in this world, Homestuck—that’s where you guys are from—is a web comic on MS Paint Adventures.”

“Hey, we have MS Paint back on our Earth, too!” said John.

“Yeah, well Hussie is clearly a universal constant,” Pyra said with a wicked grin.

“Anyways, my friends and I have been reading Homestuck for a long time, and we each have a personality that resembles that of one of the trolls,” Vantera continued. “Mine is Karkat.”

“Wait a minute. Are you telling me that my alternate reality self is a fucking _girl_?!” asked Karkat.

That did not make Vantera happy. She did not like that at all.

“Do not. I repeat; _do not_. Call me a ‘fucking girl’ in that tone of voice ever again,” Vantera said in a voice that was practically a whisper for her. “In fact, better yet, don’t even call me a ‘girl’ ever again.”

“Well what am I supposed to call you then?” Karkat yelled. “An ‘it’?”

Vantera grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him up so he was literally nose to nose with her. They were exactly the same height, and their hair fell in almost exactly the same way on their heads.

“You’re supposed to fucking call me a ‘boy,’” she spat in his face.

Makaera was a bit surprised when she said that. He was pretty sure he was the only one of their friends who knew about Vantera’s decision to be male. He wondered if she had actually meant to say that, or if it had just been a slip up.

Pyra, who was slightly confused by Vantera’s conversation with Karkat, turned her attention on Makaera. He was looking back at her with a slightly guilty expression on his face.

‘You _knew_ ,’ she realized. ‘You stupid clown.’

She resolved to hit him next time she had a chance.

“Hey, why is Gamzee all beat up?” Pyra asked, finally noticing the waves of pain that were rolling off of him.

“Uh, he and Terezi got in a kismesis-fight,” Rose told her. “They both kinda went a little overboard, but I think Gamzee’s forgotten in all the confusion.”

“It’s a good thing too,” Aranea added. “Otherwise he’d be going all bat-shit crazy all over the place and now I don’t have my mind control powers to stop him.”

Vantera scoffed.

“As if I’d let him,” she said. “You think I survived with Makaera this long without having some clue as to how to handle his insanity? If Gamzee is anything like Makaera, he wouldn’t stand a chance against me.”

“And how would you know anything about Gamzee?!” Karkat shouted, popping to his feet again. “It’s me who used to be his moirail and even I can’t calm him down anymore. My ‘shoosh and pap’ technique doesn’t even work anymore!”

Vantera smacked her forehead with both hands this time. She could almost imagine ‘Facepalm 2x Combo’ flashing across the screen of the interactive comic the way it had so many times before.

“You think I use a fucking ‘ _shoosh and pap_ ’ technique?” she practically laughed. “You’re even more of an idiot than I thought. If the fucking ‘shoosh and pap’ technique doesn’t work anymore, come up with a new one.”

“If you’re so smart I’d like to see you try and calm Gamzee down when he’s freaking out!” Karkat countered. “And then try doing it without getting any pale help in return!”

“I’m not fucking blaming you for leaving that train wreck of a moirallegiance,” Vantera said, attempting to calm them both down because things were already heated enough and why were they fighting about this anyways? “I’m just saying that if you gave up after ‘shoosh and pap’ stopped working, you’re a fucking moron.”

Karkat growled at her.

Vantera was struck with the sudden notion that she and Karkat might have pitch feelings for each other, what with the way they were practically at each other’s throats. But that didn’t really make sense because, if they were alternate reality versions of each other, was that really even possible? She didn’t know and she didn’t really want to find out. Now that the trolls were here though, it seemed that it was pretty likely she would find out a lot of things she didn’t want to know.

She would probably have to deal with a side of Makaera she hadn’t seen before, now that his idol—who also happened to be completely and certifiably insane—was here. No matter what she did, it was only a matter of time before Gamzee got Makaera to do something completely and entirely stupid. Vantera only hoped that afterwards Makaera would realize how bad Gamzee actually was.

On top of that, she would undoubtedly have to deal with the arrival of Homestuck messing up all the relationships she and her friends had worked so hard to develop. It was probably inevitable that someone in the group would end up in a relationship with someone from Homestuck.

“Oh shit,” Terezi suddenly said. “Don’t tell me we have to deal with _two_ crazy Gamzee’s??”

“Makaera ain’t that crazy,” Pyra said. “He hasn’t tried to kill anybody yet, to my knowledge.”

“You should see my room,” Vantera said with a roll of her eyes. “It almost _looks_ like somebody died in there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you guys think? I hope you read through that entire memo conversation because it had so many hilarious references in it!! SO MANY. there are probably a lot of unanswered questions that pop up in this chapter, but I promise to address them in upcoming chapters!! if you have any questions though, feel free to message me or post a comment and ill answer them to the best of my abilities (i dont actually know some of the answers. lol).


	9. Act 2: ThIs MoNsTeR i HaVe BeCoMe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2 chapters are written with Makaera's (Gamzee's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on him learning to control the monsters in him. It will also give an explanation of how Homestuck came to be in this world. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus it begins! The second Act of my intensely long story that may or may not get a sequel! Although, if it did have a sequel, it wouldn't be nearly as good as this one. 
> 
> E N J O Y !

**Act 2: ThIs MoNsTeR i HaVe BeCoMe**

I can't escape this hell;  
So many times I’ve tried;  
But I’m still caged inside;  
Somebody get me through this nightmare,  
I can't control myself.  
Somebody wake me from this nightmare,  
I can’t escape this hell…

So what if you can see   
The dark inside of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become!  
Help me believe   
It's not the real me;  
Somebody help me tame this animal.

I can't escape myself:  
So many times I’ve lied;  
But there's still rage inside;  
Somebody wake me from this nightmare,  
I can't escape this hell.  
Somebody get me through this nightmare,  
I can’t escape myself…

So what if you can see   
The dark inside of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become!  
Help me believe   
It's not the real me;  
Somebody help me tame this animal I have become!  
Help me believe   
It's not the real me;  
Somebody help me tame this animal.

Somebody help me through this nightmare;  
I can't control myself!  
Somebody wake me from this nightmare;  
I can't escape this hell!

So what if you can see   
The dark inside of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become!  
Help me believe   
It's not the real me;  
Somebody help me tame this animal I have become!  
Help me believe   
It's not the real me;  
Somebody help me tame this animal…

Help me believe   
It’s not the real me,  
‘Cause sometimes I just feel like a monster.

The secret side of me,  
I never let you see.  
I keep it caged,  
But I can't control it.  
So stay away from me.  
The beast is ugly.  
I feel the rage  
And I just can't hold it.

It's scratching on the walls,  
In the closet, in the halls.  
It comes awake  
And I can't control it.  
Hiding under the bed,  
In my body, in my head.  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?  
Make it end!

I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!  
I hate what I've become.  
The nightmare's just begun.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!

My secret side I keep  
Hid under lock and key.  
I keep it caged,  
But I can't control it.  
Cause if I let him out,  
He'll tear me up  
And break me down.  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?  
Make it end!

I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!  
I hate what I've become.  
The nightmare's just begun.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!

I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!

It's hiding in the dark.  
Its teeth are razor sharp.  
There's no escape for me.  
It wants my soul,  
It wants my heart!

No one can hear me scream.  
Maybe it's just a dream,  
Or maybe it's inside of me.  
Stop this monster!

I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!  
I hate what I've become.  
The nightmare's just begun.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!

I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin.  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!  
I'm gonna lose control.  
Here's something radical,  
I must confess that I feel like a monster!

I, I feel like a monster!


	10. ChApTeR oNe: JaDe'S rEvIvAl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2 chapters are written with Makaera's (Gamzee's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on him learning to control the monsters in him. It will also give an explanation of how Homestuck came to be in this world. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first chapter of Act 2! this chapter brings Dave and Jade into the picture, and also touches on a few other things. Also, when you get to the part about Vantera and you see that it says 'he', its not a typo. I repeat: THIS IS NOT A TYPO. Vantera has officially come out and 'she' is now a 'he'! YAY! lol, anyways
> 
> E N J O Y !

**ChApTeR oNe: JaDe’S rEvIvAl**

Captor Soul was not one to put up with bullshit, no matter who it came from. Lucky for him, his girlfriend didn’t have much bullshit. Unluckily for him, his new roommates did.

It had been four days since “Homestuck took a fucking dive off the deep end, through a multi-dimensional portal, and landed in the middle of fucking campus” as Vantera had so eloquently put it. Everyone had been paired up with one or more of the Homestuck characters, making sure they all had a place to stay.

Karkat, Gamzee, and Erisolsprite were staying with Vantera, Makaera, and Pyra. However, because of Gamzee and Terezi’s unhealthy kismesissitude, Terezi was staying with Captor and Megida, along with Davesprite. Aranea was living with Serka, Nannasprite with Night. Ampro and Peix had Jane, Jake, Dirk, and Roxy. Once he came back, Dave would be staying with Zahhak, and Jade would be with Lezha, along with John and Jaspersprite. Maryam was housing Kanaya, Rose, and Arquiusprite.

It wasn’t the best system, but things had been going alright. Most of the time, the group didn’t even stay at the places they were living. Lezha’s house had officially become the group’s headquarters, and everyone pretty much spent all their time in the basement, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

However, at the times when Terezi and Davesprite _did_ stay in Captor and Megida’s apartment, they drove the couple off the wall. Actually, they drove Captor off the wall. Megida seemed mostly just amused by it.

Terezi was constantly drawing on the walls with chalk and then licking it. Davesprite often joined her, mostly for ironic purposes. When he wasn’t drawing on the walls, Davesprite was doing ironic things that Captor couldn’t figure out for the life of him. When he found a stack of unbelievably shitty swords in the fridge, Captor almost lost his head. Literally.

It had gotten to be so bad that Captor spent most of his time locked in his room, trying to find a way to send the strange group back to their own world. The only times he came out were to go to the bathroom, eat, and go to Lezha’s house for meetings.

“It can’t be that bad,” Ampro said at their fourth meeting. “I mean, my place is now crawling with four, sixteen-year-old twerps.”

“Watch who you’re calling a twerp, Jackass,” Dirk called from his spot on the couch beside Jake.

Captor found, to his immense dislike, that he couldn’t argue with Ampro on that. He only had to deal with Terezi and Davesprite, who weren’t all that bad once you got to know them. Ampro, on the other hand, had to deal with Dirk’s irony and cold personality, Roxy’s brazen drunkenness, Jane’s mind controlled scariness, and Jake’s terrified whimpering and panic attacks. Compared to that, Captor had it infinitely better.

“You think _you_ have it bad?” Vantera scoffed as he came down the stairs. “Try living with Crabby McJackass and the scary-ass juggalo over there.”

“FUCK YOU!” Karkat yelled from the above floor.

“YOU WISH!” Vantera screamed back, causing several raised eybrows.

He then flopped down on the couch next to Gamzee, causing a few more raised eyebrows, and began petting said scary-ass juggalo’s hair, gathering the most raised eyebrows yet.

Makaera and Pyra came down shortly after Vantera, pushing and shoving each other the whole way, and settled into the loveseat, teasing each other and giggling.

Captor thought he saw Vantera’s eyes flicker over to the new pitch couple a few times, and wondered if he was jealous of his moirail’s relationship. He doubted it, though. Vantera may have been flushed for Makaera, but he understood the quadrants as well as anyone in their group, and he knew that Makaera’s black feelings for Pyra would in no way inhibit his relationship with Vantera.

Sitting on one of the couches with Megida in Lezha’s basement, waiting for the rest of the group, Captor looked around the large room. The basement was pretty much all one room. It had a TV on one end, and a game lounge on the other. When they used it for their meetings, everyone tried to stay in either the TV or game lounge, but more often than not, they ended up spread out over the entire basement.

Today, they were in the TV lounge. Vantera and Gamzee were sitting on the couch directly across from the TV and Captor and Megida were sitting on the adjacent connecting couch with Serka on one end. Next to Serka was Night in his wheelchair, and next to him was Maryam curled up in an armchair with Kanaya and Rose sitting on the arm-rests, comforting her. She still hadn’t recovered from Leo’s death. Beneath the TV, there were three bean-bags, and John, Dirk, and Jake were lounging in them. Jake was leaning on Dirk, and John was chatting with Terezi, who was laying in the middle of the floor with Roxy. A reclining armchair was situated against the wall beside the beanbags, and Jane was sitting stiffly in it. Makaera and Pyra were curled in the loveseat beside the armchair, paying no attention to anything else. Zahhak and Lezha were sitting in the couch beside them that separated the TV lounge from the game lounge. Ampro was sitting on the other end of the couch, talking to Captor across the room.

On the other side of the basement, in the game lounge, was Aranea and the sprites. They were absorbed in a game of foosball—seeming to be perfectly amused by such a simple game—and showed no signs of interest in the gathering on Captor’s side of the room.

When Karkat came stomping down the stairs, Lezha immediately leapt out of her seat on Zahhak’s lap and went to talk to him.

“Any word from Dave?” she asked, having taken it upon herself to ask Karkat this at the beginning of every meeting.

“You ask this every fucking day,” Karkat replied. “My answer hasn’t changed: NO. I will fucking tell you when the dumbass fucking contacts me.”

“Okay!” Lezha said, refusing to let Karkat’s grumpy words get her down and skipping back to Zahhak.

Karkat rolled his eyes and took his seat on the other side of Gamzee, allowing Vantera to maneuver the juggalo’s head into his lap and taking his place of petting Gamzee’s hair.

Now that his hands were free, Vantera promptly took out his cellphone and started fiddling around with it. Captor guessed he was pestering everyone who wasn’t here yet. He chuckled. Vantera’s bossy and shouty antics never ceased to amuse him.

Terezi went over to talk to Pyra for a while, distracting her alternate reality-self enough that Makaera got bored and went over to kneel in front of Vantera with his head on his moirail’s knees.

“Hey, bro,” Makaera said with a lazy smile.

Vantera looked up from his cellphone where he was furiously pounding some message on it and glared at Makaera.

“I’m busy, Fuckass,” he said. “What the fuck do you want?”

“Just to all up and get my motherfucking chill on with my best motherfucking friend,” Makaera replied, his smile never wavering.

Vantera sighed and took a break from abusing his cellphone long enough to run a hand through Makaera’s tangled hair a few times. Makaera began purring softly at the action and didn’t stop when Vantera pulled away to continue beating up his phone. However, Vantera’s motions became increasingly less anxious and frustrated with his moirail’s presence, and he soon put the battered phone away and returned his fingers to Makaera’s hair.

Captor allowed a small smirk as he watched the two, tugging Megida a little closer to him.

“It makes you wonder how long it’s gonna take them to get together, doesn’t it,” Megida mused in her hollow voice from beside him, apparently thinking along the same lines as him.

“Yeah,” Captor chuckled.

He turned his head to press a sweet kiss to Megida’s forehead, winning a soft sigh in return.

~

Vantera felt his cellphone buzz in his pocket, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer it. Makaera’s soft purring was making him feel too relaxed and he didn’t want to ruin that feeling by looking at his phone and getting pissed off. Instead, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and ran his fingers through Makaera’s long, tangled hair.

Makaera shifted and turned around so he could sit on the floor between Vantera’s legs and lean his head back. Vantera let him move and, once he was settled again, resumed combing his fingers through the raven locks.

As he did, Vantera allowed himself to think back on the past four days, which had been a flurry of activity.

Most everyone had been really excited about Homestuck being there. In fact, Vantera was under the impression that he and Captor were the only ones not excited. They had split all the Homestuck people up so that everyone in there group would be taking care of at least one. Vantera and his two roommates had ended up with Karkat, Gamzee, and Erisolsprite. Because of this arrangement, Vantera had somehow found himself in an Auspisticism with Karkat and Gamzee, trying to keep their already fragile Moirallegiance from breaking.

Even with all this stress, Vantera didn’t think he had ever been happier. It had been a complete accident, but he had slipped up telling Karkat about his gender identity. Pyra had cornered him while everyone else was there and forced the whole story out of him. To his immense embarrassment, everyone heard.

However, nobody really seemed all that bothered about it. Ampro even smiled at Vantera and told him he was proud of him for coming out about it. That had probably surprised Vantera the most. The only ones who seemed the slightest bit bothered by it were Pyra and Night. Night had become really quite around Vantera after that, and he couldn’t really figure out why. Pyra, on the other hand, teased Vantera mercilessly over it. It hurt Vantera more than he let on, mainly because Pyra was supposed to be his best friend next to Makaera.

He was beginning to feel sort of sleepy when there was a loud crackle and annoying buzz.

Karkat jumped at the noise and immediately pressed a button on the strange crab-phone on his wrist.

The crackle cleared out after a moment and the buzzing faded.

“ _Karkat?_ ” a boy’s voice came out of the speaker. “ _Karkat, you there, buddy?_ ”

“Yeah, I’m here,” Karkat replied. “Dave, where the hell are you?”

“ _Uh, I dunno,_ ” Dave answered. “ _I think I’m at, like, Abel Park, or something._ ”

Vantera paused his ministrations, earning a protesting whine from Makaera, which he ignored. He was pretty sure he had heard that name before.

“Hey, I know where that is!” Pyra said, jumping off the loveseat and nearly barreling Terezi over in her mad dash to get to the crab phone.

“ _Hang on, is that Terezi?_ ” Dave asked.

Terezi and Pyra turned towards each other with blank expressions on their nearly identical faces, and then burst out laughing. It was kind of unnerving, listening to them laugh. They had the same, wicked cackle of a laugh.

“ _Why does it sound like there’s two Terezi’s there?_ ” Dave asked, sounding more amused than confused. “ _Are you guys in a dream bubble or something?_ ”

“What? No,” said Karkat. “No, it’s nothing like that. Uh… It’s kinda a long fucking story. We’ll explain the whole fucking shebang to you once you get here, but, for now, Dave, this is Pyra. Pyra, this is Dave.”

“Hi-ya, Dave!” Pyra cackled, leaning into the phone.

There was a pause on the other end.

“ _Dude, you sound just like TZ,_ ” Dave said.

Pyra and Terezi cackled their identical laughs again.

“Yeah, I s’pose I do,” Pyra giggled. “Anyways, Dave, I’m gonna direct you to where me and the rest of the gang are now. You’re not too far from us, so it shouldn’t take too long.”

“ _That’s good,_ ” came the reply. “ _I’m carrying Jade and I’ve already chased those damn dogs across the fucking world in four days. I’m fucking exhausted._ ”

Pyra chuckled again.

“Yeah I can imagine,” she said. “Anyways, you need to get onto 18th Street, which is on the East side of the park.”

“ _Yeah, okay, no problem,_ ” Dave said, and there was some rustling on his end.

At this point, the whole room had fallen silent and was listening to Pyra and Dave’s conversation.

“ _Kay, I’m on 18 th Street, now where do I go?_”

“Go North,” Pyra replied. “Or, in other words, turn so the park is on your left and walk straight until you come to O Street.”

“ _You guys aren’t very good with naming streets, are you?_ ” Dave asked.

“I didn’t name the streets, but yeah, we kinda are,” Pyra replied.

“ _So, while I’m walking, do ya wanna fill me in on what’s going on?_ ”

Pyra paused and glanced over at Vantera. She looked so lost that Vantera quickly gave in and took over.

“Yeah, Dave, this is Vantera speaking,” he said. “You guys fucking landed in our world when… well, I’m not actually sure why the fuck you guys landed in our world. A lot of fucking things happened the day you came through and any-fucking-one of them could have been the cause of it.

“Anyways, we all pretty much agree that you’re no longer in the fucking medium, and can no longer use your goddamn God Tier powers because of that.”

“ _Yeah, I kinda learned that the hard way,_ ” Dave gave a short laugh.

“Yeah, well…” Vantera trailed off. “Funny thing is, me and my friends _can_ use our hero powers. Rose thinks it’s probably because you guys landed in a session that hasn’t fucking started yet that you can’t use yours anymore.”

“ _Wait, you guys are players too?_ ”

“Not yet,” Vantera replied. “And hopefully we never fucking will be. Either way, we’ve all got our own fucking aspects and classes, and we’re all able to use our damn powers to some extent.”

There was a moment of silence, with a little bit of white noise coming from Dave’s end.

“ _Yo, Pyra?_ ” Dave asked, breaking the silence. “ _I’m at O Street. Where do I go now?_ ”

“Cross the street and turn right,” Pyra replied after a short delay. “Then you keep walking until you get to North 22nd Street.”

“ _Got it,_ ” was the reply. “ _So, Vantera, who the fuck exactly are you people anyways?_ ”

“Like I fucking said, we’re the would-be players of this world’s fucking session,” Vantera replied. “I guess you could say we’re sort of like an alternate reality version of the trolls.”

“ _Huh, so which troll are you?_ ”

“Fucking me,” Karkat snarled.

From the other end, they could all hear Dave burst into outright laughter.

“ _God, I should have seen that coming,_ ” Dave chortled. “ _The kid talks just like you._ ”

“I hope to Gog its Karkat you’re calling a fucking kid,” Vantera growled.

Dave just laughed again and didn’t answer.

There was another long moment of silence.

“ _Alright, I’m at North 22 nd,_” Dave said. “ _I’m assuming I turn left?_ ”

“Yep,” said Pyra. “After about three blocks, North 22nd turns into R Street which, if you take a left on, turns back into North 22nd.”

“ _Again with the shitty street names._ ”

Pyra took over the conversation again, making idle chatter with Dave, and Vantera found himself tuning out the conversation. He resumed combing through Makaera’s hair, trying to get the worst of the tangles out.

“Gog, Fuckass, do you ever comb your fucking hair?” Vantera asked as he worked through a particularly nasty knot.

Makaera just shrugged a shoulder and didn’t answer.

“You know,” Vantera continued, “it probably wouldn’t kill you to run a fucking comb through your gogdamn hair every once and a while. Otherwise it just turns into this fucking rat’s nest.”

Makaera chuckled and leaned back so he could look at him.

“Whatever you motherfucking say, best friend,” he said.

At that moment, Vantera was dragged out of he and Makaera’s own little world by the appearance of two new people in the room.

Dave appeared in the room so fast that no one but Pyra and Terezi had even been able to tell he was coming. In his arms was Jade, and she looked dead.

Barely giving the room a once over, Dave strode quickly and purposefully over to Jane, laying Jade out in front of her.

“You said you could bring her back,” Dave addressed Jane.

Jane shook her head.

“I can’t anymore,” she said in a monotone and slightly metallic voice. “I can’t use my God Tier powers here, despite clearly being superior to the rest of you mortals.”

“Right,” Dave replied, frowning at the computer band that was worn on Jane’s head.

He turned to address the rest of the room.

“Anybody else here a life player?” He asked, with just the smallest hint of desperation in his voice.

“Peix is,” Megida spoke up abruptly. “She’s not here yet, but she should be here in about fifty seconds.”

Dave raised his eyebrow.

“Yeah, but _Meg_ ,” Captor said, rolling his eyes, “Peix can’t even use her powers to their full extent yet. How are you so confident?”

Megida turned to fix him underneath her own harsh stare.

“Have you seen this in her doom?” she asked.

“No, but—“

“Then it will be fine.”

Dave watched the exchange silently.

Vantera’s eyes drifted over to where Pyra was sitting on the other side of Karkat. His best friend was staring in Dave’s direction with undisguised attraction written all over her face. Vantera hoped this wouldn’t be the first case of cross dimensional romances. Pyra could be a bit clingy once she got in a relationship. The only way anyone would be able to get out of a relationship with her is if she broke it off. Vantera just hoped she wouldn’t become so attached that she wouldn’t be able to let Dave go once they figured out how to send the Homestuck cast back to their own world.

“Hi, everybody!” Peix cried as she bounded down the stairs, breaking the tension filled silence that had fallen over the group. “Gosh you guys look like you’re all shell-shocked. Hehe, _shell_ -shocked.”

“Peix, Dave has returned with Jade,” Megida said, drawing Peix’s attention over to them.

She caught sight of Dave, and Jade’s lifeless body beside him, and suddenly became all business.

She walked over to where Dave was standing and gently nudged him out of the way. Dave took a step back and nearly stepped into Terezi, who seemed to have gravitated over towards him.

Vantera watched as a whole spectrum of emotions passed over Peix’s face. It was kind of fascinating, though he would never admit it to anyone else, to watch Peix’s facial features change with each emotion. It was completely opposite of what Vantera tried to do. While Vantera tried to close off his emotions; make it so that no one knew what he was really feeling, Peix was like an open book—no pun intended. She just let each of her emotions dance across her face so that everyone could see and know exactly what she was feeling. It took a certain kind of courage to do that, one that Vantera obviously didn’t have. Peix was just so comfortable with who she was and who everyone else was, that she didn’t care if people saw all her mushy, feely insides.

Peix’s face finally settled on nervousness. She looked down at Jade with concern in her eyes, and indecision written all over her face.

“I… I can’t do it,” she finally whispered.

“ _What?!_ ” cried Dave.

“I can’t glubbing do it!” Peix repeated, more forcefully this time. “I _reelly_ can’t! I’m not God Tier yet; what if I mess up? What if I make it so she can’t come back?”

Ampro stepped up behind Peix—seeming as drawn to her as Terezi was to Dave—and placed his hands soothingly on her shoulders.

“You _can_ do it,” he said firmly. “You won’t mess up. Wanna know why? It’s because you care. Out of everyone else here, you care the most. You’ve never even met her, but you care so much about her it makes you hurt.”

Peix nodded, rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

“You’re our life player,” Ampro continued, rubbing soothing circles into Peix’s shoulder blades. “If you can’t do it, no one can.”

Peix nodded again and took a deep breath, steadying herself.

Vantera would normally be sickened by the public display of pale affections, but he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the scene in front of him. He wondered if that was what he and Makaera looked like when they were doing their palemate thing. Glancing down at the boy between his legs, he decided that, no, they most definitely did not look like that. Their own interactions with each other were much more intimate.

Vantera didn’t think that was normal in a Moirallegiance, but he supposed it was normal for people like he and Makaera. Makaera just needed a more intimate relationship to truly be pacified the way a moirail was supposed to do.

After a few moments of silence, Peix moved again, placing her slender hands over Jade’s lifeless body. She closed her eyes, and Vantera wondered what she was thinking about.

As she tried to work her magic, Peix thought about her aquarium, and how it made her feel to swim with the fish. She thought about the looks of pure bliss and happiness on the children’s faces when one of the dolphins came up to chitter at them. She thought about how it made her feel so alive.

She knew the exact moment her hands began to glow and opened her eyes to see what was happening.

Jade’s body had lifted up off the table when Peix’s hands started glowing, enveloped in a soft, green light. The light swirled around Jade’s body for a moment, before seeping into her skin.

She gasped in a sharp breath and her dog ears twitched.

Jade’s bright green eyes opened and looked around the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you guys think? it will probably need a little work, but i think its pretty good. hopefully it wasn't too boring, since most of this chapter was just sitting around and thinking and talking. next chapter will be more exciting!


	11. ChApTeR tWo: So DoNe WiTh ThIs BuLlShIt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2 chapters are written with Makaera's (Gamzee's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on him learning to control the monsters in him. It will also give an explanation of how Homestuck came to be in this world. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And my chapter posting spree continues!
> 
> E N J O Y !

**ChApTeR tWo: So DoNe WiTh ThIs BuLlShIt**

Jade sat up on the floor, rubbing her head. She looked around at everyone else and suddenly her eyes got very wide. She was in a room full of people that she didn’t know. Of course, she knew Dave, Jane, Aranea, Terezi, Jake, Dirk, John, Roxy, Rose, Kanaya, Karkat, and Gamzee, but everyone else was unfamiliar. The girl just in front of her looked sort of like how Feferi had looked in the dream bubbles, but she was human. Still, she wore the same, caring expression on her face as Feferi often did.

“W-where are we?” Jade asked in a very small voice. “Who are you?”

She wanted to be strong, but sitting in a room filled with people that she didn’t know was making that very difficult. Not to mention she was pretty sure she was supposed to be dead. Was this some sort of dream bubble? If so, then who were these people? What on earth was going on?

Dave kneeled down beside Jade and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Jade,” he said. “These people are our friends.”

Jade nodded and looked around at them again. She still hadn’t calmed down, but Dave’s presence was making her feel stronger. He had always had that sort of effect on her. She was pretty sure he had that effect on everyone.

In a stronger voice, Jade said, “I guess it’s a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Jade.”

A boy—at least, Jade _thought_ it was a boy—sitting on the couch beside Gamzee and Karkat rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, we already fucking know,” he(?) said.

Jade blinked. Then, she giggled.

“He talks kinda like Karkat,” she said to Dave.

“Yeah,” Dave replied. “I’m not really sure what’s going on, because I just got here too, but Vantera said that they are basically like alternate reality versions of the trolls.”

Jade brightened at that.

“Really?” she asked. “That’s super cool!”

To think that there were alternate reality versions of the trolls really was super cool. Jade had never actually gotten to meet all of the trolls, and she really wished she could have. Feferi had always seemed like such a sweet girl, Jade thought she would have gotten along great with her. She also knew for a fact that Karkat was desperately and painfully missing Sollux, and now he would get to hang out with an alternate reality version of him! The only thing Jade wasn’t all that thrilled about was the fact that there were now two Karkats.

She could pick out Karkat’s alternate reality-self without even really trying. They were practically sitting right next to each other and looked almost identical. It was the boy(?) who had spoken up before; the one who talked in that same bossy, irritated tone as Karkat; the one Dave had called Vantera.

The boy(?) snorted irritably, but most of the others were smiling at Jade’s infectious enthusiasm.

“So, you apparently know who I am,” Jade continued, getting up off the floor, “but I don’t know who you are.”

Vantera cleared his throat.

“I’m Vantera,” he said. “I’m sort of the leader of our group.”

“ _He’s_ my alternate reality-self,” Karkat clarified, putting emphasis on the ‘he’ and making Vantera scowl at him.

Vantera nudged the lanky boy curled up between his legs gently with his knee, silently telling him to introduce himself.

“Makaera-motherfucking-Krome,” the boy said, raising his hand to give Jade a half-assed wave. He was way too tired and comfortable to do anything else.

“He’s Gamzee’s alternate reality-self,” Karkat supplied when neither Gamzee nor Makaera showed any signs of saying anything.

Jade nodded and smiled at them. She had a sort of soft spot for Karkat, and hoped that she would get along with Vantera just as well. On the other hand, she had heard a few bad things about Gamzee, and wasn’t all that sure she really wanted to get all chummy with him and Makaera, regardless of how chill and calm they both appeared at the moment.

“I’m Pyra,” a girl with bright red shades said, grinning back at Jade with equal enthusiasm. “It should be obvious, but I’m Terezi’s alternate reality-self.”

Dave smirked at this. He had guessed as much once Vantera told him that they were alternate reality versions of the trolls. Pyra just sounded way too much like Terezi.

“Mew name is Lezha,” a small girl said, a slight purr to her voice. “I’m Nepeta’s alternate reality-self!”

“I am Zahhak,” said the boy upon whose lap Lezha was currently perched, his deep voice seeming to reverberate off the walls of the basement. “I would be Equius’s alternate reality-self.”

Jade practically cooed at them, mainly because it was just too adorable with Lezha sitting all tiny-like on Zahhak’s knee. They were just the cutest couple. Jade didn’t think it was possible for any couple to be cuter. Except maybe Vantera and Makaera, who were about the same ratio of small vs. big, but Jade wasn’t all that fond of Makaera yet.

“I’m Captor Soul,” said another boy on the other side of the room. “Sollux is my alternate reality-self.”

“Megida Aran,” said the girl sitting beside him in a hollow voice, turning her unsmiling face on Jade. “In your reality, I am Aradia Megido.”

“I’m Serka!” a girl with jet black hair crowed, puffing out her chest. “Vriska is _my_ alternate reality-self!”

“Uh… I’m Night,” the boy in the wheelchair faltered. “I guess I’m Tavros’s alternate reality-self.”

“Stop being a baby!” Serka exclaimed, gently punching Night in the shoulder. “You gotta say it like you mean it!”

“I AM TAVROS’S ALTERNATE REALITY-SELF!” Night shouted as if on instinct.

“THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!!” Serka screamed.

“ENOUGH WITH THE SHOUTING!” Vantera and Karkat roared at the same time, much to their distaste.

“SHUT TEH EFER-GLUB UP!!!” Roxy shrieked, flailing around on the floor.

Jade couldn’t help but giggle. It always warmed her heart to see groups of close friends interacting with each other. No matter how much they appeared to fight and hate each other, it always boiled down to the fact that they seemed to have fun together. Jade would know because she had that same relationship with her own group of friends.

“This is Maryam,” Kanaya said after things had calmed down a little. “She’s my alternate reality self.”

Maryam lifted her head and gave Jade and sad, little smile, which Jade returned with a beam, though she frowned in her mind. She wondered why the woman called Maryam seemed so distraught and if there was anything she could do to make the girl feel better.

“My name is Peix,” said the girl who looked like Feferi, offering her hand to shake. “I’m Feferi’s alternate reality-self, and also the one who healed you! I hope we can be best glubbing fronds!!”

Jade giggled and shook Peix’s hand. She hoped so too. Peix was so bubbly and cheerful, just like Jade.

Ampro scoffed at the exchange and all eyes turned on him, the last to be introduced.

“I’m Ampro Roan,” he said. “Billionaire Extraordinaire. Richest glubbing teen on the planet. Eridan’s alternate reality-self. The best there is and still a bachelor—how is that even possible?”

“It probably has something to do with the fact that you’re an ARROGANT NOOKSTAIN OF A FUCKING JACKASS AND NOBODY CAN STAND YOU!!!” Vantera snarled, glaring daggers at Ampro, who lifted his upper lip and sneered back at him. Their relationship had gotten better after Vantera came out, but things were still a little rocky at times.

Jade only giggled. He was an “arrogant nookstain of a fucking jackass”, but Jade thought maybe he just used that as a shield. After all, Dave had used arrogance and “coolness” as a shield before, but once all that had been peeled away, she found a boy who was scared and lonely and just wanted a friend.

“Now that that’s over with,” Jane spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention over to her. “Would you care to explain why you are no longer Grimbark, Jade?”

“Oh! Yeah,” Jade said with a giggle. “See, I was in a dream bubble with my new friend Calliope—“

“YOU MET CALLIE?!” Roxy shouted, sitting bolt upright and momentarily shaking off her hangover.

“Yeah!” Jade replied. “She’s super nice! Is she a friend of yours?”

“Hell yes!” Roxy replied, features lighting up with a smile. “She’s just the damn bestest chick you’ll ever meet! Did she tell you about her fantroll?”

“Ohmygosh, yes!” Jade gushed. “She even helped me make one too! We were having so much fun!”

Jade almost allowed herself to be swept up in the happy memories of the hours she had spent with Callie, designing her fantroll.

“Back to the topic at hand,” Jane said, interrupting the girl’s conversation. “ _How did you break the Grimbark?_ ”

Jade frowned.

“I was getting to that, jeeze,” she said. “Anyways, me and Callie were designing my fantroll and talking about stuff. I don’t remember exactly what was said, because the dream is kinda foggy, but at some point in our conversation, I suddenly remembered what was going on, and that I was dead, and _why_ I was dead.

“Once I remembered, Grimbark Jade appeared and tried to fight me. I didn’t really want to fight her, ‘cause she’s me and I was hoping I could change her back. She wouldn’t listen to me, though, and eventually I just got pissed off remembering all the horrible, evil, nasty, mean things she made me do to my friends!

“I fought her, but she was way too strong for me and ended up beating me! I think she was going to kill me, but suddenly there was this really loud ripping sound and a bunch of white light. When everything calmed down again, Grimbark Jade was gone. Poof! Like she never even happened!”

“That must have been when you fucking came through to our world,” Vantera said, his scowl dropping for a moment as he thought. “Mind control powers don’t fucking work here, for whatever fucking reason, so the gogdamn Condesce can’t fucking control you like she was back in your damned dimension.”

“Oh, is that why I can’t use my God Tier powers anymore?” Jade asked.

She had been wondering about that ever since she came back to life. The moment she opened her eyes, the absence of her god tier powers was obvious to her.

“That’s exactly fucking why,” Vantera replied.

“So how come Jane is still being controlled?” Jade asked, glancing at Jane.

“Because it’s that damn tiara controlling her and she fucking won’t let anyone close enough to fucking take it off,” Vantera said, shooting a glare at Jane’s tiara-top.

“Oh, that’s an easy fix,” Dave said.

Before anyone—least of all Jane—could react, he hooked the tip of his sword under the ridge of Jane’s tiara-top and flipped it off her head, causing Jane to shriek and flail as it did.

The tiara-top landed on the ground and Dave smashed it under his foot. Jane collapsed back against the chair, pale and shaking.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped out, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry! Jake, I’m so sorry!!!”

Jake looked surprised that she was apologizing to him and opened his mouth to say something, but Dirk put a hand over his mouth, silencing him. Jake looked up at Dirk, who silently shook his head. Jane didn’t want Jake to tell her it was okay when they both knew it wasn’t.

“Jane…” Jade said, reaching out to her.

It broke her heart to see the other girl in such distress. They had become close comrades while under the control of the Condesce, and if anyone knew how Jane was feeling at the moment, it was Jade.

Jade pulled Jane into a warm hug, pouring all of her furry Jade-Bec love into the embrace. It took a moment, but then she felt Jane’s shaking arms wrap around her waist and hug her back, burying her face in Jade’s long, black hair.

Jade patted her friend’s back, waiting patiently for the girl to calm down. She was willing to wait as long as was necessary for Jane to gather her wits, but apparently not everyone had her kind of patience.

Specifically, Karkat.

“So are we just gonna sit around, having a fucking cuddlefest, or are we actually going to get down to fucking business?” he snapped.

Vantera looked like he agreed with Karkat, but Gamzee and Makaera shared a look; a look that said “let’s all up and calm these little motherfuckers down”, and pounced on their respective palemates, dragging the boys off the couch and onto the floor, where they proceeded to have a oink-beast pile-cuddlefest.

Jade and Jane broke away from each other at the commotion, but the sight was just so funny that both girls ended up laughing.

“OINK-BEAST PILE!!!” Roxy exclaimed, jumping on top of Gamzee, who was at the top of the pile.

Jane looked at Jade, both of them still laughing, and grabbed her hand, dragging her to the pile and leaping on top of it.

Not long after, Terezi, Lezha, and Peix also joined the pile, and John practically floated to the top, sitting cross-legged on the squirming pile of limbs and bodies like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” one of the Karkat’s shouted.

“I CAN’T FUCKING BREATHE YOU GOGDAMN WRIGGLERS!!” the other one shrieked.

Nobody could tell which of them had said which, and the Karkat’s certainly weren’t clarifying.

All at once everyone sort of rolled and tumbled off the pile, John literally being thrown from his perch and then half floating, half falling back to his beanbag. Even Gamzee and Karkat, who were towards the bottom of the pile, were pushed away. At the very bottom, they found the reason everyone had been so unceremoniously dumped off the pile.

Vantera was hissing and squirming, the red of his eyes showing through his contacts as he flailed around. The only person he hadn’t managed to shove off was Makaera, who was lying flat on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

“Shoosh, shoosh,” Makaera was saying. “I gotcha little motherfucker. I motherfucking got you.”

Vantera was hyperventilating, freaking out over all the bodies that had suddenly been pressed up against him. When it was just Makaera, Karkat, and Gamzee, it was alright, because Karkat was his alternate reality-self, and he couldn’t read him like he could the others, and Gamzee was just like Makaera. His life was literally unreadable. But that was before the others had jumped in. Suddenly, there were bodies being pressed in all around him and he couldn’t breathe from the sheer amount of words and lives being shoved into his mind.

He had freaked out, lashing out at everything around him, trying to shove away the words threatening to drown him. Then, almost as suddenly as it had started, it was over. Makaera’s mind covered him like a blanket, blocking out everything else so that all Vantera could see was the story that he knew so well, and still couldn’t understand.

After a few minutes, Vantera was calm enough to move, and Makaera gently picked him up and carried him up the stairs to calm down for a while.

~

When Makaera and Vantera finally came back down stairs twenty minutes later, the meeting was already in full swing. They were discussing what would be the best method of disguising the trolls.

Up until then, they had just been covering the trolls up with lots of layers of clothing and staying inside as much as possible, but it was obvious that this would not work a permanent solution. They had gotten lucky coming through so close to Halloween, when everyone would just think they were dressing up in costumes, but after Halloween, they would need to have a permanent solution to the problem.

“How advanced are your powers, Pyra?” Vantera asked as he and Makaera sat down in the empty loveseat.

Pyra paused, unsure of how to answer.

“They’re… pretty advanced,” Pyra finally admitted. “I’ve been using them to see for a really long time.”

Vantera nodded like he wasn’t surprised.

He actually wasn’t surprised. He had known from the beginning that Pyra had some supernatural way of seeing that allowed her to get around without using the crutches that most blind people needed. Out of all of them, Vantera was pretty sure that Pyra’s powers were the most advanced. He wouldn’t be surprised if Pyra was first to reach God Tier. He wouldn’t even be surprised if she was _already_ God Tier.

“Have you ever tried to make a mind shield?” Vantera asked after a moment of thought.

Pyra frowned.

“Never had to,” she replied.

“Try it now,” Vantera said, looking at Pyra with intense eyes. “Try to shield your mind from me.”

Pyra’s frown deepened.

“Why?”

“Because,” Vantera sighed, “I have an idea that involves your powers. Specifically, your ability to create mind shields.”

Pyra looked confused, but she nodded anyways.

She looked down at the floor, studying a spot on the carpet and concentrating on completely blocking her mind. It was harder than it seemed. It took all of her concentration not to drop the wall that was shielding her.

“Okay,” she said, once she felt her shield was as solid as it was going to get, “I’m ready.”

Having moved while Pyra was concentrating, Vantera was already standing in front of her and he put his hands on either side of her face, just barely brushing her skin.

At once, the book that was Pyra’s life was pulled to the front, but rather than seeing words on the page, Vantera found it completely blank.

He pulled back, allowing the book to fade away.

“Yeah, that’s pretty fucking good,” he said. “I fucking couldn’t see anything.”

“Alright…?” Pyra asked hesitantly. “Mind telling us what the hell that was all about now?”

Vantera looked away from his blind friend’s unnervingly steady gaze. Like, what the hell? How did she even know where he was? He figured it was more of her advanced Hero of Mind powers bullshit.

“Do you think you would be able to do that again?” Vantera finally asked, looking back to meet Pyra’s gaze again. “But, this time, rather than blocking in your thoughts, make it _project_ one particular thought. Specifically, an appearance focused one.”

Pyra frowned, thinking over Vantera’s words. In context, it didn’t sound all that hard. People did that all the time in that magical bullshit books that Maryam liked to read.

“I… think so?” Pyra said.

She closed her eyes again and readied her powers. It didn’t come as much of a surprise that this sort of thing took a lot more power and concentration than the previous shield had. However, once she finally got the projection in place, it was a very simple matter to keep it up.

“Whoa, dude,” Dave said, finally snapping out of his trance. “I can’t even tell which one’s which!”

Pyra took that to mean her shield had worked.

She had chosen the appearance of Terezi Pyrope for her experiment, and it appeared to have worked quite well.

Vantera gave a crooked half-smile, which was practically beaming for him, pleased with the success of this experiment. This would be the perfect thing to hide all their troll friends.

“I hope your fucking ready to do that again,” Vantera said, frown marring his face once again. “Cause that’s our fucking answer to hiding our buldgefucking troll friends.”

Pyra’s face lit up with a radiant grin.

“Oh my gog, I _cannot_ believe I didn’t think of that sooner!” she gushed. “ _You_ , Tera, are a genius!”

Vantera shrugged nonchalantly, but the half-smile was back, and Pyra could smell his smug feelings radiating off of him like steam.

“OKAY, BULDGELICKERS, LISTEN UP!” Vantera roared, something that was entirely unnecessary seeing as they were all in Lezha’s single room basement and could hear each other perfectly fine from one end of the room to the other. “I WANT ALL YOU TROLLS TO FUCKING LINE UP FACING YOUR GOGDAMN RESPECTIVE ALTERNATE-FUCKING-REALITY-SELVES WHILE PYRA WORKS HER GOGDAMN MOTHERFUCKING MAGIC. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”

“Crystal,” Makaera winced, having been standing right next to him when Vantera decided to go on a rant.

Slowly, the trolls began to line up. Karkat scowled at Vantera, who promptly flipped him off, and Gamzee faced Makaera—the boys looked eerily similar with their clown make-up on. Kanaya stood in front of Maryam and offered her a warm, comforting smile. Pyra and Terezi faced off, making silly faces at each other despite the latter’s obvious nervousness. Aranea hesitantly stood in front of Serka, both girls looking uncertain as to if this was what they were supposed to do.

“Now what?” Terezi asked.

“Now you have to make a human image for yourselves,” Vantera explained. “Since you already look so similar to us, you can use us as a base for your image.”

This earned him another glare and snarl from Karkat, which he chose to ignore.

No way was he starting this pitch bullshit with his alternate reality-self.

“This is fucking stupid,” Karkat grumbled.

“Shut the fuck up and quit your whining, grubfucker,” Vantera retaliated.

“I find myself endlessly amused by the troll insults that continue to pour from your mouth, becoming more and more colorful with each passing day,” Rose commented.

Vantera snarled.

“Does everyone have an image in their head?” Pyra asked loudly, breaking the tension that had been building.

The trolls in the room answered with varying affirmatives, so Pyra said, “Then, here goes nothing!”

There was a flash and a lot of bright, turquoise light. When it faded, they found themselves looking at very human versions of the trolls.

“Whoa,” said Gamzee, looking down at his colored arms. “MOTHERFUCKING MIRACLES! HONK! Who all up an’ told these wicked motherfuckers they could all up and change motherfucking colors?”

Vantera looked around the room, observing his friends’ new appearances. Aranea hadn’t changed her appearance much. She kept the same hairstyle, but changed her skin color to human-peach and ditched the horns. Terezi looked almost identical to Pyra, something that the two girls seemed very excited about. Gamzee looked like a tanner, meaner, and slightly more muscular version of Makaera. He could probably pass himself off as Makaera’s brother, they looked so alike. Kanaya, like Aranea, had chosen to keep her appearance very much the same as it usually was, though she still looked very similar to Maryam.

Karkat had chosen an appearance that was as far away from Vantera but as close to himself as he could get. His eyes, which had been beginning to fill in with flecks of red, were now fully and firmly grey. His skin, which had been a pale shade of grey to begin with, had turned a very pale shade of human-peach, with a light smattering of freckles over the bridge of his nose. He had kept his hair its familiar shade of jet black, allowing it to fall in that exact same way that Vantera’s did.

All in all, he would have been quite attractive if Vantera hadn’t been so busy trying not to scratch his eyes out over the fact that he had forgotten his horns.

Those nubby little horns still sat on the top of his head, though they were mostly covered by his messy mop of black hair. It didn’t make Vantera any less pissed about it.

“I THOUGHT I SAID TO MAKE AN IMAGE THAT WAS HUMAN!!” he screeched, practically spitting in Karkat’s face.

“FUCK YOU!” Karkat retaliated. “IT’S NOT LIKE I REALLY HAD ANYTHING TO GO OFF OF! I DIDN’T WANT TO BASE MY NEW IMAGE OFF OF A _GIRL_!”

 _Smack_.

Vantera turned on his heal and stormed out of the house, leaving Karkat behind him with a cherry-red hand-print on his cheek.

He was so done with this bullshit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol oh my god i just love that last part XD Karkat and his fucking horns oh my god. Anyways, what did you think? good? bad? needs some work? do you have any predictions for future chapters? how am i doing on character development? how am i doing on keeping the cast in character? Vantera is always the hardest, kaz he's the main character and theres a lot of development going on with him. also, he's a fucking seer and they tend to be more calm and level headed, but at the same time, Vantera is just so out of control and loud and bossy and grouchy! its really hard sometimes.


	12. ChApTeR tHrEe: Of BrOoDiNg AnD mOtHeRfUcKeRs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2 chapters are written with Makaera's (Gamzee's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on him learning to control the monsters in him. It will also give an explanation of how Homestuck came to be in this world. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter introduces a new character to the story, who will remain, for the most part, in the shadows. I plan to have them come more into play in the later acts. Anyways, that's enough talking. I'll let you get to the story now ;)
> 
> E N J O Y !

**ChApTeR tHrEe: Of BrOoDiNg AnD mOtHeRfUcKeRs**

Vantera sat down on a bench in a nearby park. There were lots of people around, but they didn’t bother him much. He buried his face in his hands and took deep, slow breaths to calm himself down.

“Are you okay?”

Damnit. Pyra had followed him here.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you better than that, Tera. I _know_ you’re not okay.”

“Then why’d you ask?”

There was a moment of silence. Then, Pyra sat down on the bench next to him and put her hand on his shoulder—the clothed part, so he wouldn’t freak out about the contact. She knew Vantera wanted to be alone, but she also knew it wouldn’t do him any good to sit around being upset and angry about it.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Fuck, no.”

Pyra frowned.

“Come’on, Tera,” she said. “Talk to me… Please?”

Vantera lifted his face from his hands and glared at her.

“Just leave me alone, Py,” he growled. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not!” Pyra argued. “I know you’re not. You slapped Karkat and stormed out of there looking like you were gonna go ‘Jack Noir’ the whole city.”

Vantera rolled his eyes.

“He had it coming for him.”

“How?”

Vantera narrowed his eyes and glared suspiciously at Pyra.

“He called me a ‘girl’,” he spat.

Pyra paused.

She rightly assumed it was probably not a good idea to say, “But you are a girl” to Vantera right now. Considering that was what the whole issue was about, she decided not to say anything that could set her friend off. Instead, she decided to go the safer route and play the part of a concerned moirail.

“Look,” she said, “yeah, Karkat was pretty insensitive about that, but that’s just who he is. If you didn’t have this whole screwed up gender identity thing going on, you’d probably be pretty insensitive to stuff like that too. I mean, you and he are alternate reality versions of each other. You should be able to understand how his mind works better than anyone. The same goes for him. And when the two of you choose not to take into consideration how your minds work, things like this will happen.

“Karkat is pretty sensitive about stuff too. Like his blood caste, for example. If you were to say something insensitive or derogatory towards him about his blood, he would react the same way you just did.”

Vantera was staring off into space, his eyes glazed over, but Pyra knew he was listening. She could sense it with her mind.

“…I guess,” Vantera said slowly.

Pyra felt smug with her small success.

“Wanna head back now?” she asked.

Vantera didn’t respond. He was still staring off into space, thinking.

He was thinking about how stupid it was for Karkat to say something like that. He had made it very clear the first day that Karkat was to refer to him as a boy. He looked enough like a boy that it shouldn’t have mattered for Karkat to use him as a base, and Karkat’s appearance had resulted in looking like Vantera anyways because they already looked so similar.

So why had he said that? Why had he called Vantera a girl when he knew very well that it would only antagonize and hurt him? Had that been his intention all along? What the hell was he playing at? Was he _trying_ to initiate a black romance between them?

Vantera tried to shake that last thought out of his head, but it kept drifting back. Everything Karkat had done in the past four days had been to antagonize and annoy Vantera. The only time he wasn’t driving him up a wall was when they were caring for Gamzee.

If it had been anyone else, Vantera probably would have chalked it up to them not understanding how kismesissitude works. But Karkat knew full well how a kismesissitude works, and it was highly probable that he knew _exactly_ what he was doing when he antagonized Vantera. He knew exactly what he was initiating.

It was partially that realization along with the fact that _they were alternate reality versions of each other, that’s practically related!_ that made Vantera burst into tears suddenly, startling Pyra so much that she gave a start and looked around wildly.

“…Tera?” Pyra asked, placing her hand gently on her friend’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Vantera didn’t respond.

She put her other arm around Vantera, pulling him into her chest. She wanted to protect him from whatever it was that was making him break down like this, but she couldn’t protect him from something she couldn’t see. Vantera hid his mind so well that it was sometimes difficult to get a read off of him. It was like he had built a wall around himself that no one could break through.

Vantera stiffened at the contact, but relaxed after a moment when he realized Pyra was being very careful not to brush against any of his bare skin with hers. He wondered if she also had the mind shield they had tried before in place as well, as an extra precaution. It made him feel just a tiny bit better, to know that she cared so much about his well-being that she would take extra precautions to ensure his sanity, especially while comforting him.

Other people were starting to take notice. A few children who had been running around nearby stopped and looked at Vantera with concern.

“Why is he crying?” one boy asked.

“Is she okay?” a little girl asked.

All around, a chorus of “why is she crying?” and “is he okay?” sounded. Vantera stiffened again in Pyra’s arms. He just wanted everyone to go away.

Pyra smiled nervously at the kids, trying to pacify their curiosity and send them away as quickly as possible.

“She’s fine,” she said. “Just some friend drama, she’ll be okay.”

Vantera had literally had it with everyone calling him a ‘she’. Especially Pyra. Why couldn’t his best friend just accept his gender switch with an open heart? Why was she so adamant on insisting that Vantera was still a girl, despite his masculine gender identity?

He roughly shoved Pyra away and got to his feet angrily.

“I am _so_ sick and tired of you calling me a ‘she’!” he snarled at Pyra, who was sprawled on the ground, looking surprised and confused. “Is it really so fucking difficult for you to accept me as a boy? Are you really that fucking childish? I identify as a boy, Pyra. Get the fuck over it. Accept me for who I am or back the fuck off.”

With that, he turned and stormed off, leaving Pyra surrounded by a bunch of kids who looked confused about what had just happened.

“Wow he sure does swear a lot,” on little girl laughed.

“Yeah…” Pyra absently agreed.

She got to her feet and slouched off in the opposite direction that Vantera had gone, away from the Lezha’s house. She had a lot of things to think about.

~

Vantera didn’t go back to Lezha’s. He debated for a time going back to the apartment, but that would be the first place anyone would look when they eventually came looking for him. He just wanted to be alone for a while. Instead, Vantera went to the ruins of campus to wander around.

They had gone to poke around the place where Homestuck had landed the first couple of days. None or the trolls or humans could remember what had happened right before they came through. Karkat attributed it to the “grainy colorful bits” that had been floating around in the session.

After a few days of poking and looking around and finding nothing, they had given up and moved on. They had been hoping that, as a hero of time, Dave might remember what happened, but Vantera wasn’t going to hold out on that. He decided that he would do a little more poking around on his own and see if he could yield a few clues.

Vantera didn’t really do much poking around as he did just wandering around and thinking. He mostly thought about how he would get all the Homestuck characters back to where they were supposed to be. But he worried that they would have to know how they got to their universe in the first place in order to have any idea on how to get them back. He also worried about the complications Lord English and the Condesce would pose. How in the ever-loving-fuck were they going to get those two back into their own universe? He could almost guarantee they wouldn’t go quietly.

They would probably have to kill them in order to get them out of their world. That brought up a whole ‘nother hash of problems. How were they going to kill the Condesce and Lord-Fucking-English?

With these thoughts in his head, Vantera found himself, once again, standing in the middle of campus, where their Homestuck friends had landed and where they had spent the past few days trying to figure out how things had fucked up so bad that they got spewed out into this world. Vantera stood in the middle, staring around blankly, with the strange feeling that someone, or something, was watching him.

Just as that thought was established, his phone went off, informing him that someone was pestering him. Annoyed at being pulled out of his thoughts, Vantera pulled out his phone, fully prepared to bitch out whichever friend had been stupid enough to pester him, only to find a chumhandle he didn’t even recognize.

 

viciousSexy [VS]  began trolling  killerKarkat [KK] 

VS: hello MOTHERFUCKER

KK: WHAT  
KK: WHAT THE FUCK  
KK: WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?  
KK: IS THIS MAKAERA?  
KK: FUCK BRO, STOP MAKING NEW CHUMHANDLES.

VS: lol :oD  
VS: no MOTHERFUCKER thiS iSnt makaera :oP  
VS: i cant really tell you MOTHERFUCKERS who i really am though  
VS: aS much aS i would really MOTHERFUCKING like to  
VS: it doeSnt follow your MOTHERFUCKING human culture to tell people your MOTHERFUCKING name before getting to know them MOTHERFUCKERS firSt  
VS: ya know MOTHERFUCKER? :o)

KK: UH…  
KK: WAIT  
KK: IS THIS A TROLL?  
KK: I MEAN  
KK: NOT LIKE AN INTERNET TROLL, BUT AN ACTUAL TROLL  
KK: FROM ALTERNIA?  
KK: OR BEFORUS?  
KK: WHICHEVER I GUESS

VS: lol neither MOTHERFUCKING one  
VS: im from valteria  
VS: itS a completely MOTHERFUCKING Separate univerSe from them two  
VS: itS from your MOTHERFUCKING univerSe  
VS: MOTHERFUCKER ;o)

KK: SO YOU ARE A TROLL

VS: yeS! i am Such a MOTHERFUCKING troll  
VS: my hornS be all up an Snakey-SnakeS  
VS: and my Skin be the darkeSt Shade of MOTHERFUCKING grey  
VS: and my blood be the color of MOTHERFUCKING grape faygo  
VS: cauSe themS the bitchtitS :o)

KK: OKAY, WOW. I COULD BARELY EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT FUCKING SENTENCE  
KK: DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW FUCKED UP THIS CONVERSATION IS?  
KK: IT IS ALL KINDS OF FUCKED UP

VS: itS  
VS: itS own brand of twiSted ;o)

KK: LOL OKAY, I’LL ADMIT, THAT WAS KINDA FUNNY

VS: thankS MOTHERFUCKER :o3

KK: OKAY SO I GET THAT YOU’RE A TROLL  
KK: FROM VALTERIA?

VS: MOTHERFUCKING right!

KK: YEAH  
KK: SO I CAN BELIEVE THAT  
KK: I READ HOMESTUCK  
KK: ACTUALLY, FUCK THAT  
KK: HOMESTUCK IS ALREADY HERE  
KK: FUCKING SHIT UP

VS: haha yeS i know MOTHERFUCKER  
VS: i been all up an waiting for that to happen  
VS: So that when i contacted you  
VS: you wouldnt just Shoot me down and not MOTHERFUCKING believe me

KK: I WOULD HAVE BELIEVED YOU  
KK: I READ HOMESTUCK FOR FUCKS SAKE  
KK: I CAN AND DO BELIEVE QUITE A FEW THINGS THAT OTHER PEOPLE WOULDN’T

VS: whatever you Say MOTHERFUCKER

KK: SO WHY ARE YOU CONTACTING ME NOW?

VS: becauSe  
VS: homeStuck iS here  
VS: Shit iS going down  
VS: your SeSSion iS going to begin VERY MOTHERFUCKING Soon

KK: …  
KK: SHIT  
KK: HOW SOON IS SOON?  
KK: LIKE, IN A FEW DAYS, SOON?  
KK: OR A FEW MONTHS, SOON?  
KK: GIVE ME SOMETHING TO GO OFF HERE  
KK: I NEED TO KNOW HOW MUCH I SHOULD BE FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW

VS: lol  
VS: dont worry  
VS: youve Still got Several MOTHERFUCKING monthS :o)  
VS: over a year actually  
VS: you already got them homeStuck MOTHERFUCKERS back in their own SeSSion by the time yourS StartS  
VS: So chill the MOTHERFUCK out  
VS: no need to freak the fuck out

KK: OKAY  
KK: TOTALLY CHILL RIGHT NOW  
KK: NOT FREAKING OUT ABOUT THE FACT THAT OUR FUCKING SESSION’S BEGINNING IS LOOMING OVER THE FUCKING HORIZON  
KK: GETTING CLOSER EVERY FUCKING DAY  
KK: I AM TOTALLY *NOT* DOING ANY FUCKING BACKFLIPS OR ACROBATIC PIROUETTES OFF THE FUCKING HANDLE OVER HERE

VS: lol  
VS: youre Silly :o3

KK: AND YOU’RE A FUCKASS  
KK: FUCK YOU

VS: awe dont be like that MOTHERFUCKER :o(  
VS: dont be all harSh like on my think pan  
VS: im juSt trying to be friendly :o(

KK: NO  
KK: STOP THAT ‘:o(‘ RIGHT FUCKING NOW  
KK: I DON’T NEED ANY MORE SAD FUCKING CLOWNS AROUND ME  
KK: I’VE ALREADY GOT TWO  
KK: AND THAT’S MORE THAN ANYONE SHOULD HAVE TO PUT UP WITH  
KK: YOU FUCKERS ARE THE WORST KIND OF TROLLS, FOR THE RECORD  
KK: YOU GO ALL FLIPPING OFF THE FUCKING DEEP END AND JUST FUCK EVERYTHING UP  
KK: YOU GO RAGE MODE AND JUST START KILLING EVERYBODY  
KK: AND THEN WE SHOUTY LITTLE REDBLOODED FUCKERS GOTTA CALM YOUR ASSES DOWN

VS: haha alright MOTHERFUCKER :o)  
VS: i wont :o( at you  
VS: though  
VS: for the MOTHERFUCKING record  
VS: i dont go all rage mode like your two clown friendS. im a muSe of rage. thatS Something completely MOTHERFUCKING different from a bard  
VS: a bard of rage iS Something of a MOTHERFUCKING wild card. impoSSibly powerful and entirely unpredictable  
VS: and alSo very unstable. a bard uSeS hiS aSpect to deStroy  
VS: in other wordS  
VS: he allowS hiS aSpect to deStroy  
VS: or he allowS hiS aSpect to be deStroyed

KK: I ALREADY FUCKING KNOW ALL THAT  
KK: YOU DON’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO ME THINGS I ALREADY KNOW  
KK: FUCK, YOU DON’T REALLY HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO ME  
KK: I’M A FUCKING SEER OF WORDS. ALL THIS BULLSHIT IS RELATIVELY OLD NEWS FOR ME

VS: alright :o)

KK: SO WHAT’S A MUSE OF RAGE DO?  
KK: I’VE NEVER ENCOUNTERED ONE BEFORE AND THERE AREN’T REALLY ANY EXPLANATIONS FOR THE UNNAMED CLASS/ASPECT COMBINATIONS ON HOMESTUCK.

VS: a MOTHERFUCKING muSe of rage iS an exceptionally powerful player :o)  
VS: they have incredible MOTHERFUCKING healing and creative potential. they affect everyone in their MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion. when the MOTHERFUCKING muSe of rage is unStable or unhappy  
VS: everyone iS unhappy. they are baSically MOTHERFUCKING going at each otherS throatS becauSe the muSe cant keep her Shit under control  
VS: however  
VS: when the MOTHERFUCKING muSe iS Stable and calm  
VS: So iS everyone elSe. She can alSo uSe her MOTHERFUCKING rage to give her team a conSiderable power booSt. it workS kinda like makaeraS berSerking  
VS: except  
VS: it MOTHERFUCKING affectS everyone :o)

KK: DAMN  
KK: REMIND ME TO NEVER PISS YOU OFF

VS: lol dont worry MOTHERFUCKER  
VS: im pretty MOTHERFUCKING chill moSt of the time  
VS: aS long aS you dont MOTHERFUCKING hurt or kill my friendS  
VS: and Seeing aS theyre all dead  
VS: i wouldnt worry about that too much

KK: WAIT  
KK: ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD?

VS: yeS :o(

KK: SHIT I’M SORRY  
KK: HOW DID THEY DIE?  
KK: IF YOU DON’T MIND ME ASKING  
KK: WAS IT DURING THE GAME?

VS: oh no MOTHERFUCKER  
VS: no my friendS were never deStined to play with me  
VS: i waS alwayS MOTHERFUCKING deStined to join your SeSSion  
VS: aS a Second MOTHERFUCING rage player  
VS: and a MOTHERFUCKING glitch :o3  
VS: my friendS were killed at the end of my MOTHERFUCKING world  
VS: when the MOTHERFUCKING empreSS luSuS decided to get all up and MOTHERFUCKING unSettled  
VS: and releaSe the vaSt glub  
VS: killing all the MOTHERFUCKING trollS in the MOTHERFUCKING univerSe :o(  
VS: i only Survived becauSe i have Such high MOTHERFUCKING blood  
VS: and i waS at one of the fartheSt MOTHERFUCKING cornerS of the univerSe at the MOTHERFUCKING time. a few other MOTHERFUCKING trollS with me alSo Survived  
VS: but i waS the only MOTHERFUCKER who decided to venture back to our planet  
VS: when i got there  
VS: i found an empty waSteland with no SignS of life  
VS: it waS very Sad for me :o(  
VS: but then i found thiS planet!  
VS: it iS So MOTHERFUCKING alive and full of mirth and color :o)  
VS: itS like Some MOTHERFUCKER all up an decided to paint the whole planet with the wicked colorS  
VS: MOTHERFUCKING beautiful  
VS: HONK :o)

KK: RIGHT…  
KK: YEAH THAT WHOLE END OF THE STORY WAS REALLY FUCKED UP  
KK: YOU SOUNDED JUST LIKE GAMZEE THERE FOR A SECOND AND IT WAS SUPER FUCKING SCARY. THE SCARY ASS JUGGALO’S BEEN GETTING MORE AND MORE AGGRESSIVE LATELY AND IT’S STARTING TO MAKE ME REALLY FUCKING NERVOUS  
KK: LIKE, IF HE SNAPS AGAIN  
KK: WE ARE ALL SO SCREWED.  
KK: I’VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP HIM PACIFIED WITH KARKAT’S HELP (WHICH IS AN ACHIEVEMENT IN AND OF ITSELF!) BUT I DON’T THINK ME AND KARKAT COULD CALM HIM DOWN AGAIN IF HE WENT ALL RAGE MODE ON US  
KK: HE’S JUST THAT FAR GONE  
KK: IT’S KIND OF SAD TO BE HONEST  
KK: I KNOW IT’S JUST CAUSE OF MY PALE FEELINGS FOR MAKAERA  
KK: BUT I REALLY PITY GAMZEE  
KK: I WANT TO HELP HIM…  
KK: BUT HE WON’T LET ME HELP  
KK: EVEN IF HE WOULD, I DON’T THINK THAT I COULD  
KK: HE’S COMPLETELY GIVEN HIMSELF UP TO THE DARKNESS INSIDE HIM. HE’S NOT EVEN FIGHTING IT ANYMORE. IF ANYTHING, HE’S *ENCOURAGING* IT! HE’S JUST LETTING IT EAT UP EVERY GOOD PART ABOUT HIM AND IT’S MORE THAN HAPPY TO OBLIGE  
KK: IT MAKES ME HATE HIM, BUT PITY HIM AT THE SAME TIME  
KK: I HATE HIM BECAUSE OF WHAT HE’S DOING TO MAKAERA. MAKAERA’S DIFFERENT NOW, AND HE CHANGES EVERY TIME I SEE HIM. SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE HE’S NOT EVEN THE SAME PERSON HE USED TO BE. HE’S GOING DOWN THAT SAME PATH GAMZEE IS, BECAUSE HE’S SO BLIND TO ALL THAT EVIL GAMZEE HAS IN HIM.  
KK: BUT THEN I PITY HIM BECAUSE HE JUST FEELS SO HOPELESS, AND THAT’S WHY HE’S GIVEN IN TO THE DARKNESS  
KK: AND IT’S JUST… REALLY, *REALLY* SAD

VS: haha well i AM a MOTHERFUCKING Subjuggulator So it would make SenSe that i SometimeS Sound like Gamzee :o)  
VS: and dont MOTHERFUCKING worry about him Snapping. i have it on good MOTHERFUCKING authority that he will remain paSSive for the moSt part until homeStuck returnS to itS MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion  
VS: it iS really MOTHERFUCKING Sad though  
VS: that heS given in to that MOTHERFUCKING darkneSS :o(  
VS: if he hadnt Spent hiS entire MOTHERFUCKING life eating Sopor pieS to try and drown out the MOTHERFUCKING mirthful voiceS  
VS: he probably would have been juSt like me  
VS: a very peaceful and loving MOTHERFUCKING Subjuggulator with a few little rage iSSueS :o)  
VS: i totally get how you can MOTHERFUCKING pity him too  
VS: heS juSt So MOTHERFUCKING pitiable!

KK: YEAH…  
KK: SO  
KK: GETTING BACK ON TOPIC HERE  
KK: WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL BE JOINING OUR SESSION?  
KK: WE ALREADY HAVE OUR RAGE PLAYER, SO HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT WORK?

VS: oh of courSe!  
VS: i will not really be part of your MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion  
VS: at leaSt  
VS: not in the way the reSt of you will be. you will each bring in one perSon and be brought in by another perSon, completing the MOTHERFUCKING chain that needS to happen. but i will join your MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion by coming through with one of you! much like the MOTHERFUCKING guardianS of the four pre-Scratch kidS were brought into the medium  
VS: i will enter with captor  
VS: who recieveS two SpriteS becauSe of hiS MOTHERFUCKING duality nature  
VS: which meanS that one of them will be my MOTHERFUCKING kernel Sprite!

KK: OH OK  
KK: BUT WAIT  
KK: IF YOU’RE COMING IN WITH SOMEBODY, THE WAY THAT GUARDIANS CAN BE BROUGHT INTO THE SESSION, THEN HOW DO YOU HAVE A GOD TIER? OR EVEN A DREAM SELF? WAIT, DO YOU EVEN *HAVE* A DREAM SELF?

VS: of courSe i do Silly :o)  
VS: She iS aSleep on derSe with the reSt of the MOTHERFUCKING derSite dreamerS  
VS: and i have a MOTHERFUCKING god tier becauSe i will uSe captorS extra kernel Sprite  
VS: im really nothing more than a MOTHERFUCKING glitch in the program  
VS: but im a glitch that Skia accounted for i gueSS?  
VS: im really not Sure how Skia iS able to account for all poSSible MOTHERFUCKING outcomeS of a SeSSion  
VS: even glitcheS  
VS: which are SuppoSed to be unaccounted for  
VS: i dont know im not the MOTHERFUCKING Seer

KK: YEAH THAT’S SUPPOSED TO BE ME  
KK: BUT I DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT EITHER

VS: haha oh well :o)  
VS: i wouldnt MOTHERFUCKING worry your thinkpan over it too much  
VS: itll all MOTHERFUCKING work itSelf out in the end :o)  
VS: MOTHERFUCKING MIRACLES :o3

KK: SOMETHING LIKE THAT

VS: anywayS  
VS: i really juSt wanted to MOTHERFUCKING pop in for a minute and Say hi and introduce mySelf to you  
VS: but i gueSS i MOTHERFUCKING did a lot more than that huh  
VS: i kinda juSt dumped a whole load of MOTHERFUCKING information on you  
VS: but in my defenSe  
VS: you were MOTHERFUCKING aSking for it  
VS: alSo  
VS: thiS MOTHERFUCKING omnipotent outSider who only dropS a few cryptic hintS every once and a MOTHERFUCKING while iSnt really my MOTHERFUCKING Style. id rather juSt be upfront and Straightforward with everyone  
VS: aSk and ye Shall MOTHERFUCKING receive kinda thing  
VS: ya hear me?

KK: I HEAR YOU  
KK: TO BE HONEST, I’M NOT REALLY DOWN WITH THAT WHOLE CRYPTIC BULLSHIT EITHER. IF I ASK A QUESTION, IT’S BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW THE FUCKING ANSWER, NOT SOME STUPID RIDDLE  
KK: SO THANKS FOR NOT BEING A FLIGHTY BROAD I GUESS

VS: haha  
VS: youre MOTHERFUCKING welcome :o)

KK: WELL I SHOULD PROBABLY GET GOING NOW  
KK: I ACTUALLY JUST WANTED TO BE ALONE FOR A WHILE, SEE IF I COULD SORT OUT A FEW THINGS IN MY HEAD.  
KK: AND I’VE STILL GOT THE MEETING WITH THE REST OF THE GANG, AND I SHOULD PROBABLY TELL THEM ALL THE INFO YOU JUST TOLD ME. ASSUMING THE MEETING’S NOT OVER BY THE TIME I GET THERE.  
KK: UNLESS YOU THINK I SHOULD HOLD OFF ON THAT?  
KK: TELLING THEM ABOUT YOU I MEAN

VS: oh im Sorry i intruded upon your muSingS (pun intended ;o))  
VS: and you can tell your friendS whatever you MOTHERFUCKING think they need to know :o)  
VS: i will be contacting everyone Soon  
VS: and if everyone elSe aSkS aS many MOTHERFUCKING queStionS aS you  
VS: ill likely be repeating mySelf quite a bit

KK: TELL THEM THEN  
KK: OKAY, COOL FUCKING BEANS  
KK: TALK TO YOU LATER THEN I GUESS

VS: moSt certainly!  
VS: oh! before i all up an MOTHERFUCKING forget  
VS: my name iS Sanier darkle  
VS: but you may MOTHERFUCKING refer to me aS Sani :o)

KK: COOL  
KK: LATER, SANI

VS: until next time  
VS: vankat ;o)

viciousSexy [VS]  ceased trolling  killerKarkat [KK]

KK: WAIT…  
KK: HOW DID YOU KNOW MY NAME?

 

It was too late though. The troll who had called herself ‘Sanier Darkle’ had already signed off. Vantera stared down at his phone. How had the troll known that name? He hadn’t even _told_ anyone that he was changing his name.

He supposed Sanier might have Trollian like the trolls in Homestuck. It allowed the user to jump around in the timelines of others to talk to them from any point on their timeline. It also allowed them to open viewport and see the person they were talking to.

It was possible that Sanier talked to Vantera later in his timeline and found out his name that way. Sanier also could have viewed Vantera later in his timeline and seen him write his name down or something. Still, it was a little unnerving for someone to know a name he had never told anyone.

Vantera jumped and almost dropped his cellphone when it beeped again.

He opened Pesterchum again to find a message from a familiar chumhandle.

 

capriciousMiracles [CM]  began pestering  killerKarkat [KK]

CM: HeY bRo  
CM: WhErE yOu AlL uP aNd At?  
CM: MeEtInGs OvEr AnD iM bAcK aT hOmE wItH gAmZeE aNd KaRbRo  
CM: Py SaId NoT tO mOtHeRfUcKiNg WoRrY aBoUt YoU  
CM: tHaT yOuD cOmE bAcK wHeN yOuRe GoOd AnD mOtHeRfUcKiNg ReAdY  
CM: bUt I cAnT hElP wOrRyInG aBoUt YoU

KK: CHILL OUT  
KK: I’M FINE  
KK: I’M JUST WANDERING AROUND. I’LL COME BACK WHEN I’M READY TO. I JUST WANTED TO BE ALONE FOR A WHILE  
KK: IS THAT REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK?

CM: OkAy BrO :o)  
CM: iLl JuSt WaIt HeRe FoR yOu  
CM: YoU jUsT mIsSeD sOmE sTuFf At ThE mEeTiNg ThAt I tHiNk YoUd LiKe To KnOw

KK: OKAY.  
KK: I’LL START HEADING BACK NOW  
KK: CAN YOU TELL GAM AND KARKAT TO GET THE FUCK OUT BEFORE I GET BACK?

CM: SuRe BuT wHy?

KK: IF I SEE KARKAT’S FUCKING FACE, I THINK I’M GONNA PUNCH SOMETHING.  
KK: AND IF I COME BACK AND GAM’S THERE BUT NOT KARKAT, HE’S JUST GONNA DEMAND ALL MY PALE AFFECTIONS AND I JUST DON’T THINK I’VE GOT IT IN ME TO PACIFY THAT FUCKER.  
KK: GOGDAMN IS HE HIGH MAINTANENCE  
KK: ANYWAYS, LONG FUCKING STORY SHORT, I DON’T HAVE THE PATIENCE OR THE ENERGY TO DEAL WITH THEM RIGHT NOW.  
KK: SO GET THEM OUT

CM: HaHa AlRiGhT bRo  
CM: YoU wAnT tHeM oUt? IlL mOtHeRfUcKiNg GeT tHeM oUt  
CM: yOu CoMe HoMe AnD wElL hAvE tHe WhOle MoThErFuCkInG pLaCe To OuSeLvEs

KK: THANKS FUCKASS

CM: No PrObLeM bRo :o)  
CM: SeE yOu At HoMe

KK: YEAH. SEE YOU SOON

capriciousMiracles [CM]  ceased pestering  killerKarkat [KK]

 

Vantera put his phone away and turned to walk home. As he did, something flashed in the corner of his eye. Something small, round, and silvery grey. He turned towards it, and found a small bubble floating near where Karkat had claimed to have landed.

It looked like one of the memory bubbles that often popped up in dream bubbles. What was it doing here? Was he caught in a dream bubble?

Vantera glanced around him, looking for the tell-tale signs of a dream bubble, but if there were any he found none. He looked at the memory bubble again, and decided to look, and see what memory it might contain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you think? Sanier is one of my fantrolls :) I really like her quirk XD its so fun to write! she's also just so cheerful and optomistic :33 gosh i love Sanier <3 
> 
> Anyways, what did you think of this chapter? the idea to have Vantera and Pyra get in a fight was actually my editor's idea. it was back when i was having some writers block, and we got to talking about things that were happening in my story and things that i wanted to happen and i told her about how Pyra still hadn't really accepted Vantera's gender identity. My editor suggested that something happen to make Vantera upset and Pyra get her moirallegiance on, and then for Pyra to accedentally slip up and call Vantera a she. And this is the result XD
> 
> So, anyways, this is everything I have posted on Wattpad, so I'm gonna start up with the same posting schedule I have on Wattpad, which is every two weeks on friday. Which means that the next update will be sometime on Friday, June 6th. I'm starting work that week, so it might be at a funky hour, like in the wee hours of the morning or the dead of night. Either way, I WILL UPDATE FRIDAY THE 6TH!!!!


	13. ChApTeR fOuR: tHe MeMoRy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2 chapters are written with Makaera's (Gamzee's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on him learning to control the monsters in him. It will also give an explanation of how Homestuck came to be in this world. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol so this chapter I literally had to write LINE.BY.FUCKING.LINE. the pale-flushed action between Vantera and Makaera was just so cute and heavy that i had to go take a break from writing it every couple of sentences. Also, I finally got the pesterchum thing working! whoop!
> 
> On another note, I'm starting an exercise to help with killing off characters (for some weird reason, Im having a lot of trouble killing off characters in this book and I have WAY too many!). So basically Im writing another homestuck fanfiction, this one a homestuck/hunger games crossover. Its probably gonna be way shorter and Im not gonna stress much over details or consistency or whatever. Its just to get over the painful feelings part of killing my favorite characters. LOL. Im gonna try to upload the first chapter today, but I just got off work and I'm dead tired so idk.
> 
> Anyways...
> 
> E N J O Y !

**ChApTeR fOuR: tHe MeMoRy**

Vantera opened the door to the apartment, only to be surprised when there was a slight resistance. He pushed the door open enough to squeeze through, and found Makaera laying on the floor in front of the door, peering up at him beneath long, black bangs. His hair was wet and plastered around his face; he wasn’t wearing his clown makeup.

“Dude,” Vantera said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him, “what the fuck are you doing?”

“Just motherfucking waiting for you to get home, bro,” Makaera replied with a lazy grin. “You motherfucking said you’d be back soon, but it’s been _hours_. I was motherfucking worried.”

Vantera rolled his eyes and reached down to help Makaera up.

“Twenty fucking minutes is not _hours_ , shithead,” he said, pulling Makaera to his feet. “Learn to have a little fucking patience.”

Makaera just grinned and ruffled Vantera’s hair.

“Whatever you motherfucking say, bro,” he chuckled.

Vantera glanced around the room. True to his word, Makaera had gotten the rest of their roommates out of the apartment. He wondered vaguely where Pyra was, but quickly decided he didn’t care either way, so long as she wasn’t here.

Makaera was pulling him gently towards their room, saying, “I made a motherfucking pile in our room. We can have a motherfucking feelings jam!”

Vantera rolled his eyes again, but he let a small smirk slip.

“Just as long as it’s not made out of horns,” he said.

Makaera turned around and gave Vantera a strange look that he wasn’t able to decipher.

“What…?— _eep!_ ”

Vantera let out an embarrassing noise of surprise when he was suddenly swept up in Makaera’s long arms and slung over his shoulder like a sack of grain. From this angle, he had a nice view of his moirail’s surprisingly muscular back, but he certainly wasn’t going to tell _him_ that.

“PUT ME DOWN YOU NUBSUCKING FUCKASS!” Vantera shrieked.

Makaera chucked and Vantera made another one of those “ _eep!_ ” noises as he was dropped unceremoniously onto an enormous pile of blankets and pillows on the floor in the middle of their room. Makaera dropped down on top of him, pinning him down with his body and nuzzling his face into his neck.

“GOGDAMNIT, SHITHEAD, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?” Vantera snarled when Makaera kissed his neck.

Makaera chuckled and Vantera had to struggle to refrain from shivering as his warm breath fanned over his skin.

“Chill out, brother,” Makaera said, his lips moving against the skin on Vantera’s neck. “Just trying to calm a motherfucker down is all.”

Vantera would have growled at him, but Makaera was already back to kissing his neck and _damnit_ it was working. Vantera sighed in resignation and slowly brought his hand up to run his fingers through Makaera’s hair.

Makaera growled when he felt Vantera’s hand on his head and Vantera automatically flinched away, his hand dropping back down to the pillows.

“…S’rry, brother,” Makaera mumbled against his neck.

“It’s okay,” Vantera sighed. “But what the hell was that for?”

Makaera pushed himself up to look Vantera in the eye and he felt his breath catch. He would _never_ get over how bright and purple Makaera’s eyes looked up close.

“You’re always doing things for everyone else,” he said. “You’re always keeping me and Gam from losing our shit and you keep all the other motherfuckers in line. You’re always taking care of all of us, but you never let anyone take care of you. Just… motherfucking let me take care of you for once. Let me make you feel good.”

Vantera frowned, but he couldn’t deny the truth in Makaera’s words. It _had_ been awhile since he last let someone else do the pacification for a change. It was just that so many people needed pacifying and he never felt like he could rest until they were all taken care of; until he had either pacified the shit out of them, or found someone else to pacify them.

He looked up into Makaera’s eyes, dark pools of purple so deep he thought he might get lost in them if he peered too far into them. He took a breath and nodded hesitantly.

“O-kay…”

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” Vantera breathed again and smirked up at Makaera. “Go ahead and pacify the ever-living fuck out of me.”

Makaera raised one slim eyebrow and grinned.

“Is that a motherfucking challenge?”

Vantera blinked.

“Fuck, yeah,” he said, responding with a tiny grin of his own.

Makaera dipped his head to kiss his cheek and Vantera’s heart fluttered. He hated it when his body reacted this way to Makaera’s pacifying, but he couldn’t stop himself. He kept coming back for more, even when he felt like ripping his heart out and pounding it to a pulp on his desk.

He knew he should probably correct Makaera’s way of pacifying, in case they ever got different moirails, but it hurt to think of Makaera pacifying anyone else. And besides that, if he corrected him, Makaera would stop with all those gentle touches and sweet kisses, and Vantera wasn’t sure he wanted those to stop. Who even cared if it was a little more flushed than moirails were supposed to be? Vantera certainly didn’t. Especially when Makaera’s warm hands slipped underneath his shirt and smoothed against the skin on his sides.

He was pretty sure he was making that strange purring sound that Makaera liked so much. He felt Makaera chuckle against him.

“Feeling better, bro?” he asked.

Vantera nodded. He was too tired and relaxed to say anything.

Makaera was planting those sweet kisses all over Vantera’s face now; every bit of skin he could reach but his lips. Vantera felt conflicted. On the one hand, he really wanted Makaera to kiss him. His desire welled up inside of him like dry wood catching fire and he could do nothing to stop it. On the other hand, he really wanted Makaera to stop before this became any more flushed than it already was.

Makaera kissed his forehead, right between his brows that were beginning to crease as he frowned.

“Watcha all up an’ thinking ‘bout, little motherfucker?” Makaera asked.

“Don’t call me little,” was Vantera’s automatic response. “And nothing… Nothing important anyways.”

“Nothing and nothing important are two totally motherfucking different things, bro,” Makaera argued softly. “Just tell me what’s got your motherfucking thinkpan in a twist. We’ll sort you out in no-motherfucking-time. Honk!”

Vantera narrowed his eyes.

“Did you just ‘honk’, fuckass?” he asked.

Makaera looked confused. He paused and thought for a minute, his eyes widening in realization.

“Huh,” he said. “I guess I motherfucking did honk at you, bro.”

His eyes focused on Vantera again and he chuckled.

“Honk!”

“No!” Vantera snarled, slapping a hand over his mouth to silence him. “No more honking!”

He wasn’t exactly sure why he was reacting like this, and judging from Makaera’s expression, he was just as surprised as Vantera. All Vantera knew was that if Makaera kept honking he was going to flip his shit so hard he wouldn’t ever flip back. Makaera had never honked before this; Vantera just _knew_ it was from hanging out with Gamzee that he started now. It confirmed all the fears he had ever had about Makaera. He was slipping away, day by day, slowly giving in to the monster inside. And it was _all Gamzee’s fault_.

“…Bro?” Makaera’s eyes were wide and bright as he spoke behind Vantera’s hand.

Vantera slowly removed his hand and folded it across his chest with his other arm, as if his two arms could form a barrier against all the terrified emotions that were threatening to break free of him.

“Hey,” Makaera said softly, touching his forehead to Vantera’s. “Please tell me what’s wrong. Don’t think I didn’t motherfucking notice that you’ve been avoiding answering all my motherfucking questions.”

Vantera had closed his eyes when Makaera pressed their foreheads together, but now he opened them, meeting his best friend’s eyes. He took a deep breath and threw caution to the wind. Who even gave a damn if this totally changed Makaera’s opinion of him. He was opening up and letting himself need another person. He was bearing his whole ugly self for Makaera to see; trusting his best friend with his heart.

Okay.

Maybe not his heart.

More like…

His soul.

No. That sounded way too intimate.

Either way, breathing out, Vantera said, “I’m scared.”

“What’re you motherfucking scared of, bro?” Makaera pressed.

“…Of losing you.”

Makaera blinked and frowned.

“You’re not gonna lose me,” he said. “I’m not motherfucking going anywhere.”

Vantera sighed and shook his head.

“That’s not even remotely close to what I fucking meant,” he said.

“Then what did you all up and motherfucking mean?”

“Exactly what I said,” Vantera growled. “Shit. I don’t fucking know. Fuck. That’s a lie. I do know, it’s just… hard to put into words.”

Makaera didn’t say anything, just continued to lay on top of him like a heavy, immovable blanket.

“Ever since you started hanging out with Gamzee, you’ve changed,” Vantera finally started. When Makaera opened his mouth to retort, he cut him off saying, “No, don’t talk. If you interrupt I’m not gonna be able to say it.”

Makaera shut his mouth and nodded, his eyes never wavering from Vantera’s.

“Look,” Vantera began again, “I know you don’t want to believe it, but Gamzee is _not_ a good person. He’s gone completely off the deep end and given in to the voices and now he’s dragging you down with him. No! Shut your trap, I’m not done yet. I know that he’s your alternate reality-self and that you practically worship him, but if you keep fucking around with him you’re just gonna get dragged down with him. And if that happens, I’m gonna lose you. That’s what I’m fucking scared of, shithead.”

When he finished, Vantera was breathing heavily, his speech having sped up considerably at the end and his voice rising steadily in volume.

Makaera didn’t respond at all other than to plant a sweet kiss on Vantera’s forehead again.

“I know that motherfucker ain’t exactly what you’d call a good motherfucking role model,” Makaera finally said, his lips moving against Vantera’s skin, “but he’s a good motherfucking person.”

“How do you know?” Vantera asked softly.

“Because the motherfucker’s just as scared as you, bro,” Makaera answered. “He can’t all up and control himself when them motherfucking voices take over. Neither can I. If the motherfucking voices decided they wanted to go on a murderous rampage, you think I’d be able to motherfucking stop them?”

“…Yes,” Vantera’s voice was so soft he didn’t think Makaera had even heard him.

But Makaera paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, he said, “You may be motherfucking right about that. I don’t rightly know. Might be I could motherfucking quell those motherfucking voices before they could make me do something I don’t motherfucking wanna do.

“But Gamzee doesn’t have that motherfucking option. He doesn’t have an ounce of motherfucking control over them motherfucking voices that are all up and screaming their motherfucking rage in his thinkpan. He didn’t wanna kill his bros, but the voices made him do it. It was only ‘cause of Karbro he was able to stop in the first place. Kinda like how you all up and shut them motherfucking voices in my head up.”

“But that doesn’t excuse the fact that he’s just willingly giving himself up to the darkness now,” Vantera argued. “I know that’s what’s happening. I’m fucking auspistizing for him and Karkat!”

“Shoosh,” Makaera said, kissing his nose. “Calm that motherfucking spitfire, bro. I ain’t arguing with you. I think he’s being a motherfucking dumb shit too, but can’t you try to see things from his view? The motherfucker feels like he ain’t got no other option. Like if he don’t give in to the motherfucking voices, he’s just gonna be in pain and misery for the rest of his motherfucking life.

“Plus that and its motherfucking _hard_ , bro. I motherfucking understand that better than anyone. There are some days I just wanna lie down and give up too.”

“But you don’t,” Vantera said.

“Yeah, and maybe that’s ‘cause I haven’t motherfucking lost anyone yet,” Makaera replied. “Gam’s lost so much already. He’s lost some of his best bro’s, and most of them not even to his motherfucking rage voices. Some of them he lost to his other bro’s… ‘cause that’s the way trolls are. They were just born to motherfucking fight, and Gamzee never motherfucking wanted to fight.

“But he was forced to because of the motherfucking game, and them motherfucking rage voices in his head. Shit like that’s gonna leave scars, bro. Its gonna leave motherfucking deep scars. And Gam just doesn’t know how to deal with it.”

Vantera nodded slowly. He thought he was maybe beginning to understand a little. A lot of what Makaera said was hard to understand, but once you got past all the horrible grammar and “motherfuck”’s, he actually made a pretty good point. Up until the time he had snapped, Gamzee had barely experienced any violence. The voices had changed all that and forced him to kill two of his best friends, and find the body of his flushcrush too. After having seen all of that, Gamzee probably didn’t even believe in that world of miracles and happiness he had conjured up anymore. It probably made it pretty damn hard for him to resist the voices, and he was just too tired to keep fighting. Not to mention, Vantera and Karkat were doing a pretty piss poor job at helping him through it.

“I… I think I understand now,” Vantera said softly.

“Good,” Makaera purred and nuzzled Vantera’s neck affectionately again.

~

Vantera and Makaera got several hours of feelings jam and cuddling done in the pile before their roommates came barging through the front door.

Pyra strode right up to the door to their room and sang, “We’re home so I hope you both got your pants on and aren’t doing anything suggestive because I am coming through that door in three… two… one!”

Pyra swung the door open, to find, to her utter disappointment, that Makaera and Vantera weren’t doing anything out of the norm of their usual feelings jams. Vantera was on his back on his side of the pile and Makaera was on his side facing him. The only parts of them that were touching were their hands. Vantera had one arm tossed over his face and his legs were crossed at the ankles. He lifted his arm just enough to glare weakly at Pyra, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. Makaera was cradling his head with his arm, his long legs tucked up underneath him but still somehow hanging off the pile. They were both two relaxed to do anything more than growl half-heartedly at Pyra.

Pyra cackled, her grey, unseeing eyes fixing on Makaera beneath her cherry red shades.

“Well look at that,” she sang. “He pacified you so hard you ain’t got the rage to even growl properly at me!”

“Fuck off,” Makaera groaned, reluctantly releasing Vantera’s hand and sitting up.

“OI YOU GRUBFUCKING NOOKSTAINS!” Karkat shouted from the living room, obviously uneasy about coming anywhere near Vantera and Makaera’s room. “WE GOT IMORTANT FUCKING THINGS TO DISCUSS IN HERE SO GET OFF YOUR BULGEHUMPING ASSES AND GET IN HERE.”

“‘Bulge-humping’?” Vantera questioned, looking at Pyra with an expression that could only be described as amused on his blissfully slack face. “That’s a new one.”

Pyra shrugged and laughed.

“Who knows where he gets them,” she chuckled.

Vantera and Makaera rolled out of the pile and followed Pyra out into the living room where Karkat and Gamzee were waiting. There was no sign of Erisolsprite, but he usually came and went as he pleased. He was probably still at Lezha’s house with the other sprites playing pool or something.

“Dave remembers,” Karkat said immediately. “He knows what happened before we came through and landed in this fucking universe.”

Vantera rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I know too,” he said.

Karkat blinked.

“Well,” he said, looking surprised. “That’s great. Uh… what do you know?”

“What fucking happened before you nookstains landed in our world,” Vantera replied, rolling his eyes again.

“How did you find that out?” Pyra asked, frowning. “You weren’t at the meeting.”

Vantera paused. This was what he had been wanting to tell his friends ever since he got home and was herded into having a feelings jam with Makaera. He had sort of forgotten about it since then. Now, however, it was back in the front of his mind, clear as if he had just seen it. The silvery grey bubble he had found contained Karkat’s memory of the moments before they had come through. The memory, while garbled and confused, had contained a lot of information.

“I found a memory bubble,” Vantera finally said. “Karkat’s. While I was wandering around campus. It showed me Karkat’s last memories in the beta session.”

Karkat blinked again. He looked surprised. Pyra also looked surprised, but it was hard to tell with her glasses on. Gamzee and Makaera were both unfazed, but Vantera wasn’t really sure they were even listening. Whatever.

“So… what did my memory show you?” Karkat asked.

“Well, it started out with everyone on LOFAF, just before the Condesce arrived, which is one of the last fucking panels updated so far on Homestuck,” Vantera explained. “Gamzee was beating the ever-loving fuck out of Terezi, Dave was chasing after the Bec Noirs and Jade, Jake had come out of his fucking hope-blast thingy, Rose was somewhere over by him I think, not sure where John was—probably doing the fucking windy thing—the manifestation of Dirk disappeared after Jake got fucking stabbed and passed the fuck out, Aranea was up on the house, Roxy was fucking sleeping by her, Kanaya and I—Karkat—were just sort of standing there staring, and I can’t really fucking remember where anyone else was.

“Then, the Condesce showed up and everything started going to hell. Those fucking annoying grainy things were starting to gather, so it was really fucking difficult to see what was going on. I think the Condesce was saying something, but I couldn’t really hear what it was. ‘He’s found a way to beat you good and ain’t nothing you can do to stop him’… or something like that.

“Anyways, that’s when John showed up and used his fucking windy powers to blow all the fucking grainy bits away. Once everything was clear, I could see this sort of crack in the sky. Like how it looked in the fucking dream bubbles when English would fucking break reality. The fucking crack kept spreading, and then pieces of the fucking sky started falling away.

“It looked kind of like English was standing inside the hole, but I couldn’t really tell because the fucking space inside was all bright and fucking rainbow flashy and it was just a silhouette.

“There was this fucking loud noise that sounded like a vacuum cleaner, and then the hole started fucking sucking everything up, just like a fucking black hole. The memory ended right after Karkat got sucked in.”

Vantera looked around at his friends. Makaera appeared to have tuned into the story, and was frowning in thought. It was such a foreign look on Makaera’s face; he didn’t usually think very hard about anything. Vantera was tempted to tell him that he could see smoke coming out of his ears.

Pyra had a similar expression as Makaera on her face, though it looked much more normal on her. Karkat just looked pissed, but that was his normal expression.

“That’s pretty much the same story Dave told us,” Pyra said after a moment. “The only difference is that he was the last one to get pulled in, and he was trying to go back in time at the moment. He said he saw ghost impressions of everyone standing where they had been before the blast, frozen. That might have just been what he would have seen, had he succeeded in going back in time, but Dave doesn’t think so. He said that’s not usually what happens when he time travels. He thinks that they might be in a doomed timeline, and that those ghost images of everyone else were from the alpha session and he was seeing it because he was trying to time travel.

Now it was Vantera’s turn to frown.

“If they were in a fucking doomed timeline, don’t you think they would all be fucking dead by now?” he asked. “On top of that, wouldn’t Captor have noticed? Because, you know, if _they’re_ in a doomed timeline, our fucking timeline should be doomed too, and I think that’s something Captor would have fucking noticed.”

“Yeah, he said as much at the meeting,” Pyra agreed.

Then, Vantera had another thought. Something that supported his argument that this wasn’t a doomed timeline. He remembered the conversation he’d had with Sanier before the memory. From what Sanier had said, it didn’t sound like they were in a doomed timeline. It sounded more like this was the alpha timeline, and this was how things were supposed to happen in order to start their own session. Vantera also didn’t think Sanier would have been able to contact them at all if this wasn’t the alpha session.

For a moment, Vantera didn’t want to tell anyone about Sanier just yet. They had just gotten out of a meeting and dropping this on them would just mean they would have to turn right around and have another meeting. Vantera just knew his friend’s wouldn’t thank him for that. Then, he remembered that he could just open a memo on pesterchum and tell everyone that way if he had to. It was best if they didn’t hide information from each other. Every little bit counted towards getting the Homestuck characters back to their own session.

“I just remembered something,” Vantera said once he was decided.

His friends, who had been arguing about something that probably wasn’t important, turned their eyes on him.

“Before I found the memory bubble, I was contacted by someone,” Vantera said. “They told me that they were a fucking troll from our universe, a planet called Valteria. They said they were contacting me because our fucking session is going to begin soon.”

Karkat and Pyra began talking at once, both trying to talk over each other. Gamzee was laying on the couch, his eyes closed, probably asleep. Makaera was laying on the floor, frowning up at the ceiling, but his face was so much the same as the last time Vantera had looked at him, that he wondered if Makaera was still trying to process what Vantera had said before. It would not surprise him.

“Would you both just _shut up_!” Vantera snarled, effectively shutting his friends up. “One at a fucking time, Jegus!”

Pyra and Karkat looked at each other—or, rather, Karkat looked at Pyra and she looked in his general direction—and Pyra spoke first.

“What do you mean soon?” she asked. “Give me specifics. Like, tomorrow soon? Or in a few months soon? Also, how do we know this person is a reliable source of information?”

Vantera sighed and rubbed his forehead. He had expected these kinds of questions from Pyra, but that didn’t make them any less frustrating. Especially when he didn’t know the answers to most of them.

“They wouldn’t give me any fucking specifics,” he said, “but they said it would start shortly after we get the Homestuck cast back to their own fucking dimension. And I don’t have any fucking proof that this person is trustworthy. All I really know is that their name is Sanier Darkle, or Sani for short, they’re a fucking purpleblood from a world called Valteria—which is in our universe—and pretty much all the other trolls are fucking dead, with a few survivors. Oh, and I know they say ‘motherfucker’ a lot, so that should make Makaera happy.”

Pyra looked like she wanted to say something more, but Karkat was already talking.

“Okay, so go back a ways,” he said. “This person said they were a troll? And you’re sure they’re telling the truth?”

He didn’t really look suspicious as much as really excited.

Vantera shrugged.

“I don’t really see any reason for them to lie,” he said. “I guess just the way they fucking talked made me sort of believe them. They knew stuff about our group without me even fucking telling them. They talked about stuff that’s going to happen in the future. I don’t really fucking know how they could know that fucking stuff without having the advanced fucking technology that you guys have.”

Karkat just got more and more excited as Vantera talked.

“Do you know what this fucking means?!” he said, his face alight with happiness, something that Vantera thought looked good on him.

Vantera just raised an eyebrow rather than answering. Beside him, he saw Pyra do the same.

“This means that not all the trolls are dead!” Karkat exclaimed. “There are still trolls out there! We’re not the last fucking ones!”

“Not in your universe,” Vantera reminded him.

Karkat scowled.

“I fucking know that,” he snapped. “But trolls have really advanced technology. If there are other troll civilizations out there, they will be able to travel to this universe, or another universe, or, fuck, even our universe! This means that some of the trolls on the ships that didn’t come home might have survived!”

He was pacing anxiously now, waving his arms as he talked.

Karkat suddenly turned sharply to face Vantera and said, “We gotta call another meeting. Right. Fucking. Now. We _have_ to tell the others about this!”

“Hell no,” Vantera said. “I’m not going through another bullshit meeting today, and I’m willing to bet the others aren’t gonna be too fucking thrilled with the idea either.”

Karkat looked put out.

“But… we gotta tell the others,” he said.

“Then we’ll use a fucking memo,” Vantera said. “Not one of those timey-whimey bullshit memos you fuckasses use with trollian. Just a good old-fashioned pesterchum memo. I can invite everyone.”

Karkat rolled his eyes and glared, but agreed nonetheless. Pyra also agreed and darted off to her room to get her laptop. Vantera and Makaera retreated to their room for their laptops, leaving Karkat in the living room to fish his husktop out of his sylladex.

 

killerKarkat [KK]  opened a memo in FUCKING HOMESTUCK

KK: EVERYBODY GET ON WE HAVE THINGS TO DISCUSS

carcinoGeneticist [CG]  responded to memo

CG: FUCK YOU  
CG: IM ON  
CG: NOW WHERE THE FUCK IS EVERYBODY ELSE?

justiceScream [JS]  responded to memo

JS: J33Z3 1TS R34LLY FUCK1NG H4RD TO T3LL YOU TWO 4P4RT  
JS: YOUR T3XT 1S 4LMOST 3X4CTLY TH3 S4M3 COLOR!

KK: BULL FUCKING SHIT  
KK: I CAN HEAR YOUR STUPID COMPUTER TELLING YOU EVERYTHING WE FUCKING SAY FROM MY ROOM  
KK: TURN THAT DAMN THING DOWN!

JS: WHY, 1S 1T BOTH3R1NG YOU? >:]

KK: YES

JS: GOOD >:]

KK: FUCKING…  
KK: FUCK

kittensWrath [KW]  responded to memo

KW: :33 < *kw pouncegr33ts her furriends*  
KW: :33 < *hi everyone! she purrs*

JS: *W3LL H3LLO TH3R3*  
JS: *S4YS TH3 M1GHTY 4ND F34ROC1OUS JS*  
JS: >:]

KW: :33 < h33h33 :33

CG: OH GOG  
CG: MAKE IT STOP  
CG: HOW DO YOU LIVE WITH THESE PEOPLE?!

KK: I’VE LEARNED TO JUST ROLL WITH IT  
KK: AND SCREAM A LOT  
KK: THEY GET ANNOYED IF I SCREAM AT THEM LONG ENOUGH  
KK: THEN THEY QUIT  
KK: SEEING AS HOW IT’S DRIVING YOU UP A FUCKING WALL THOUGH  
KK: I THINK I’M GONNA LET THEM BE (:<B

CG: GOG FUCKING DAMN YOU  
CG: I HATE YOU SO MUCH

bigMomma [BM]  responded to memo

BM: Karkat, Are You Suggesting That You Would Be Interested In A Black Romance With Our Dear Vantera?  
BM: Is That What Is Going On?  
BM: Or Have I Read This Incorrectly

CG: FUCK NO!  
CG: I MEANT PLATONICALLY!  
CG: I HATE HIM PLATONICALLY!

KK: CEASE YOUR FUCKING MEDDLING, WOMAN!  
KK: IF WE WANT YOUR FUCKING HELP IN OUR ROMANTIC LIVES WE’LL FUCKING ASK FOR IT!

BM: I Apologize.  
BM: It Is A Habit Of Mine To Meddle In The Romantic Affairs Of Others  
BM: And It Is A Very Difficult Habit To Break.  
BM: I Will Cease My Meddling

KK: FUCKING FINALLY

technoNerd [TN]  responded to memo

TN: 2eriiou2ly? ii thought we covered everythiing iin the meetiing

KK: OBVIOUSLY NOT NUMBNUTS  
KK: I THOUGHT OF MORE FUCKING THINGS YOU NOOKSTAINS NEED TO KNOW

TN: and why couldnt you tell u2 at the meetiing??  
TN: oh waiit!! iit2 becau2e you werent AT the meetiing!!

KK: FUCK OFF CAPTOR

TN: yeah love you two kk ;)

capriciousMiracles [CM]  responded to memo

CM: Yo

KK: EXCUSE ME?

TN: oh quiit your whiiniing you  
TN: you know you love me ;)

KK: FUCK YOU!!!

CM: ????????

JS: ?????????????????? >:]

KW: :33 < ????????????????????????????????? :33

BM: I Assume This Is Something I Am Supposed To Join In On?  
BM: Very Well.  
BM: ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

spiderificDiva [SD]  responded to memo

SD: ???????? ::::)

CG: NOPE  
CG: FUCK THIS

SD: youre such a wet 8lanket!!!!!!!!  
SD: ruin aaaaaaaall the fun why dont you!

CG: FUCK YOU SERKET  
CG: *SERKA*  
CG: FUCK ITS SO HARD TO TELL YOU PEOPLE APART D:B

KK: YOU KNOW WHAT?  
KK: THIS ISN’T WORKING  
KK: FROM NOW ON, EVERYONE JUST RESPOND TO THE MEMO AND ONCE WE HAVE EVERYBODY WE’LL START THE FUCKING MEETING.  
KK: UNTIL THEN  
KK: EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

CG: FUCK YOU

royalBuffoon [RB]  responded to memo

RB: this is stupid

timeLord [TL]  responded to memo

TL: .

cullingCuddlefish [CC]  responded to memo

CC: )(---ELLO ---EV---ERYBUBBLY!!

tentacleTherapist [TT]  responded to memo

TT: I wonder what this could be about

grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  responded to memo

GA: I Also Am Curious As To What This Impromptu Meeting Could Be About

gallowsCalibrator [GC]  responded to memo

GC: H3Y >:]

ectoBiologist[EB]  responded to memo

EB: hi everyone!

turntechGodhead [TG]  responded to memo

TG: sup egderp

EB: daaaaaaaave!  
EB: dont call me that!  
EB: …  
EB: oops  
EB: sorry vantera!!!

KK: *GROWL*

tipsyGnostalgic [TG]  responded to memo

TG: heu guts  
TG: *guyd  
TG: *guya  
TG: *fuxk it

timaeusTestified [TT]  responded to memo

TT: Rox are you seriously already THIS drunk?

TG: DIIIIIIIIIRL!!!!  
TG: *dirk oops  
TG: lol nooooooopp!  
TG: i quit drinhking remejmber?  
TG: i sobber!

TT: Good  
TT: Now stop talking before the grumpy grey text flays us.

TG: haha wich one?  
TG: if i recaill cortectlu  
TG: ther are to grumpu gray textd :p

TT: Good point.  
TT: Either of them. Both of them.

KK: OHMYGOG JUST SHUT UP!!!!

TT: That one

gutsyGumshoe [GG]  responded to memo

GG: Must we really do this?  
GG: I am not particularly in the mood for these shenanigans

hoofbeastTamer [HT]  responded to memo

HT: D--> I apologize for my lateness  
HT: D--> I was held up with something of importance

KW: :33 < you were building another robot werent you

HT: D--> … No

KW: :33 yes!

HT: D--> No.

KW: :33 YES!

HT: D--> No!

KW: :33 YES!!!

KK: FOR GOG’S SAKE STOP WITH THE FUCKING YES NO ARGUMENT YOU TWO ARE SO FUCKING FOND OF HAVING!  
KK: GO CONTINUE THIS IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE FUCKASSES!

golgothasTerror [GT]  responded to memo

GT: hello chums!

gardenGnostic [GG]  responded to memo

GG: hi guys!!! <3

arachnidsGrip [AG]  responded to memo

AG: Just to clear up any confusion  
AG: This is Aranea  
AG: I am using my ancestor’s account as mine seems to have 8een deleted

rocketlauncherWheelchair [RW]  responded to memo

RW: aWWE MAN,,, iM THE LAST ONE

KK: WAIT  
KK: WHERE THE FUCK IS GAMZEE?

CG: YEAH HES NOT COMING

KK: HIT HIM FOR ME

CG: DONE  
CG: HE GROWLED AT YOU

KK: WELL THEN I WILL GROWL RIGHT THE FUCK BACK AT HIM.  
KK: DUMBFUCK DIDN’T LISTEN EARLIER WHEN WE WERE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT IT SO HE SHOULD GET HIS FUCKING ASS ON HERE SO HE ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON

CG: motherfucker AINT NO FUCKING WAY i need to listen to a bunch of motherfuckers TALK ABOUT SUCH TRIVIAL THINGS. i got better ways to spend my MOTHERFUCKING TIME.  
CG: FUCK  
CG: SORRY HE STOLE MY HUSKTOP

CM: Hi GaMzEe!  
CM: TeLl HiM i SaId Hi :o)

KK: DUDE YOU TALK TO HIM ALL THE TIME  
KK: WHY DO YOU NEED TO SAY HI TO HIM NOW?!

TT: Not that this isn’t vastly interesting, but could we please get back to the topic at hand?  
TT: What was the purpose you called this meeting, Vantera?

KK: RIGHT, SORRY  
KK: FUCKASSES DISTRACTED ME.  
KK: ANYWAYS, I CALLED THIS MEETING TO TALK ABOUT SOMEONE I MET EARLIER TODAY  
KK: THEY MESSAGED ME OVER PESTERCHUM  
KK: HANG ON  
KK: I’M GOING TO COPY AND PASTE A BIT OF OUR CONVERSATION  
KK: BTW I’M PASTING MY OWN TEXT IN RED SO YOU GUYS KNOW WHICH ONE IS ME.  
KK:  VS: hello MOTHERFUCKER  
KK:  KK: WHAT KK: WHAT THE FUCK KK: WHO THE FUCK IS THIS? KK: IS THIS MAKAERA? KK: FUCK BRO, STOP MAKING NEW CHUMHANDLES.  
KK:  VS: lol :oD VS: no MOTHERFUCKER thiS iSnt makaera :oP VS: i cant really tell you MOTHERFUCKERS who i really am though VS: aS much aS i would really MOTHERFUCKING like to VS: it doeSnt follow your MOTHERFUCKING human culture to tell people your MOTHERFUCKING name before getting to know them MOTHERFUCKERS firSt  VS: ya know MOTHERFUCKER? :o)  
KK:  KK: UH… KK: WAIT KK: IS THIS A TROLL? KK: I MEAN KK: NOT LIKE AN INTERNET TROLL, BUT AN ACTUAL TROLL KK: FROM ALTERNIA? KK: OR BEFORUS? KK: WHICHEVER I GUESS  
KK:  VS: lol neither MOTHERFUCKING one VS: im from valteria VS: itS a completely MOTHERFUCKING Separate univerSe from them two VS: itS from your MOTHERFUCKING univerSe VS: MOTHERFUCKER ;o)  
KK: OKAY NOW I’M SKIPPING A FEW PARTS  
KK: IT’S A REALLY LONG CONVERSATION SO I’M JUST COPY-PASTING THE PARTS YOU NEED.  
KK:  KK: SO WHY ARE YOU CONTACTING ME NOW?  
KK:  VS: becauSe VS: homeStuck iS here VS: Shit iS going down VS: your SeSSion iS going to begin VERY MOTHERFUCKING Soon  
KK:  KK: … KK: SHIT KK: HOW SOON IS SOON? KK: LIKE, IN A FEW DAYS, SOON? KK: OR A FEW MONTHS, SOON? KK: GIVE ME SOMETHING TO GO OFF HERE KK: I NEED TO KNOW HOW MUCH I SHOULD BE FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW  
KK:  VS: lol VS: dont worry VS: youve Still got Several MOTHERFUCKING monthS :o) VS: over a year actually VS: you already got them homeStuck MOTHERFUCKERS back in their own SeSSion by the time yourS StartS VS: So chill the MOTHERFUCK out VS: no need to freak the fuck out  
KK: SKIP A FEW MORE LINES  
KK:  VS: a MOTHERFUCKING muSe of rage iS an exceptionally powerful player :o) VS: they have incredible MOTHERFUCKING healing and creative potential. they affect everyone in their MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion. when the MOTHERFUCKING muSe of rage is unStable or unhappy VS: everyone iS unhappy. they are baSically MOTHERFUCKING going at each otherS throatS becauSe the muSe cant keep her Shit under control VS: however VS: when the MOTHERFUCKING muSe iS Stable and calm VS: So iS everyone elSe. She can alSo uSe her MOTHERFUCKING rage to give her team a conSiderable power booSt. it workS kinda like makaeraS berSerking VS: except VS: it MOTHERFUCKING affectS everyone :o)  
KK: SKIPPING  
KK:  KK: WAIT KK: ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD?  
KK:  VS: yeS :o(  KK: SHIT I’M SORRY KK: HOW DID THEY DIE? KK: IF YOU DONT MIND ME ASKING KK: WAS IT DURING THE GAME?  
KK:  VS: oh no MOTHERFUCKER VS: no my friendS were never deStined to play with me VS: i waS alwayS MOTHERFUCKING deStined to join your SeSSion VS: aS a Second MOTHERFUCING rage player VS: and a MOTHERFUCKING glitch :o3 VS: my friendS were killed at the end of my MOTHERFUCKING world VS: when the MOTHERFUCKING empreSS luSuS decided to get all up and MOTHERFUCKING unSettled VS: and releaSe the vaSt glub VS: killing all the MOTHERFUCKING trollS in the MOTHERFUCKING univerSe :o( VS: i only Survived becauSe i have Such high MOTHERFUCKING blood VS: and i waS at one of the fartheSt MOTHERFUCKING cornerS of the univerSe at the MOTHERFUCKING time. a few other MOTHERFUCKING trollS with me alSo Survived VS: but i waS the only MOTHERFUCKER who decided to venture back to our planet VS: when i got there VS: i found an empty waSteland with no SignS of life VS: it waS very Sad for me :o( VS: but then i found thiS planet! VS: it iS So MOTHERFUCKING alive and full of mirth and color :o) VS: itS like Some MOTHERFUCKER all up an decided to paint the whole planet with the wicked colorS VS: MOTHERFUCKING beautiful VS: HONK :o)  
KK: SKIP! SKIP SKIP SKIP SKIP FUCKING SKIP!  
KK:  KK: WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL BE JOINING OUR SESSION? KK: WE ALREADY HAVE OUR RAGE PLAYER, SO HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT WORK?  
KK:  VS: oh of courSe! VS: i will not really be part of your MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion VS: at leaSt VS: not in the way the reSt of you will be. you will each bring in one perSon and be brought in by another perSon, completing the MOTHERFUCKING chain that needS to happen. but i will join your MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion by coming through with one of you! much like the MOTHERFUCKING guardianS of the four pre-Scratch kidS were brought into the medium VS: i will enter with captor VS: who recieveS two SpriteS becauSe of hiS MOTHERFUCKING duality nature VS: which meanS that one of them will be my MOTHERFUCKING kernel Sprite!  
KK:  KK: OH OK KK: BUT WAIT KK: IF YOU’RE COMING IN WITH SOMEBODY, THE WAY THAT GUARDIANS CAN BE BROUGHT INTO THE SESSION, THEN HOW DO YOU HAVE A GOD TIER? OR EVEN A DREAM SELF? WAIT, DO YOU EVEN *HAVE* A DREAM SELF?  
KK:  VS: of courSe i do Silly :o) VS: She iS aSleep on derSe with the reSt of the MOTHERFUCKING derSite dreamerS VS: and i have a MOTHERFUCKING god tier becauSe i will uSe captorS extra kernel Sprite VS: im really nothing more than a MOTHERFUCKING glitch in the program VS: but im a glitch that Skia accounted for i gueSS?  VS: im really not Sure how Skia iS able to account for all poSSible MOTHERFUCKING outcomeS of a SeSSion VS: even glitcheS VS: which are SuppoSed to be unaccounted for VS: i dont know im not the MOTHERFUCKING Seer  
KK: THAT’S PRETTY MUCH IT.   
KK: THE TROLL ALSO SAID THEY WILL BE CONTACTING EVERYONE ELSE SOON (AND BY THAT I ASSUME EVERYONE FROM *THIS* UNIVERSE) SO IF YOU GET A MESSAGE FROM SOMEONE BY THE CHUMHANDLE OF viciousSexy [VS]IT’S JUST THEM.  
KK: BTW, THEIR NAME IS SANIER DARKLE, BUT THEY GO BY SANI.  
KK: SO… YEAH.

TG: ok wow  
TG: that was a really confusing conversation right fucking there  
TG: what the fuck  
TG: why the hell is this even important?

GA: Oh My  
GA: Does This Mean What I Think It Does?

CG: HELL FUCKING YES  
CG: THIS WAS WHY I DEMANDED WE HAVE A FUCKING MEETING

GA: So There Really Are Other Trolls Out There?  
GA: This Is Not Some Joke Made In Very Poor Taste?  
GA: There Are Real, Actual, Living Trolls Out There?

CG: PRETTY MUCH

KK: IF YOU WANTED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH SANIER, I DOUBT THEY WOULD MIND  
KK: SEEMED SORT OF LIKE THE SOCIABLE TYPE TO ME

GA: Oh My  
GA: Yes!  
GA: Yes I Would Very Much Like To Get In Touch With Them!  
GA: Please Excuse Me!

grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  ceased responding to memo

KK: RIGHT  
KK: WELL THAT’S EVERYTHING FOR NOW  
KK: IF YOU GUYS WANT TO KEEP TALKING, GO FOR IT  
KK: LAST ONE OUT HAS TO CLOSE THE MEMO  
KK: I’M TIRED SO I’M GOING TO BED  
KK: FUCK YOU ALL

TN: yeah, yeah quiit beiing 2uch a biitch  
TN: go to 2leep and maybe wake up wiith 2ome manner2 tomorrow

killerKarkat [KK]  ceased responding to memo

TL: w0uld it kill y0u t0 be nice 0nce and a while?

TN: ye2  
TN: ye2 iit would

TL: h0nestly

timeLord [TL]  ceased responding to memo

TN: waiit!  
TN: iim 2orry meggiie!  
TN: come back here!

technoNerd [TN]  ceased responding to memo

TT: Well then.  
TT: I’m out.  
TT: If anyone needs me, I’m sure I’ll be at my computer a while longer.  
TT: Just shoot me a message.  
TT: Later

timaeusTestified [TT]  ceased responding to memo

tipsyGnostolgic [TG]  is an idle chum!

tipsyGnostolgic [TG]  responded to memo

TG: whops  
TG: i toke a napp  
TG: watd i mis?

TT: Not much, actually.  
TT: Nothing that concerns us anyways  
TT: If you’re still curious  
TT: you can of course go back over what was said in the memo.

TG: oh yea  
TG: cool!  
TG: thanx rosi!

TT: No problem.  
TT: For those of you that might have need of me,  
TT: I am wearing my hubtop  
TT: Feel free to contact me whenever.  
TT: As long as it is within reasonable hours.

tentacleTherapist [TT]  ceased responding to memo

EB: dave! dave!  
EB: you should come over and play mario cart with me!!!

TG: you know im gonna beat you egderp  
TG: why do you even bother?

EB: awe come on!  
EB: you cant keep defeating me forever!  
EB: one of these days im gonna beat you!

TG: tch  
TG: is that a challenge?

EB: heck yeah!

TG: youre on, bro  
TG: be over in a min  
TG: see you soon

EB: yeah! see you!

turntechGodhead [TG]  ceased responding to memo

ectoBiologist [EB]  ceased responding to memo

JS: OH M4N.  
JS: C4PTOR WOULD H4V3 LOV3D TH4T >:D  
JS: TH4T W4S P3RF3CT  
JS: 1 4M SO GL4D 1 L1V3D TO S33 TH4T!

GC: Y34H TH4T W4S PR3TTY F4NT4ST1C W4SNT 1T?  
GC: GOG 1 W1SH SOLLUX W3R3 H3R3  
GC: H3 WOULD H4V3 GON3 W4CK3D OV3R TH4T

JS: OH M4N 1 B3T!  
JS: H3Y T3R3Z1  
JS: W4NN4 PL4Y 4 G4M3?

GC: 1 DO 3NJOY G4M3S >:]

JS: YOULL LOV3 TH1S TH3N  
JS: W3 LOOK 3X4CTLY TH3 S4M3 NOW  
JS: L3TS S33 1F D4V3 C4N T3LL US 4P4RT! >:]

GC: OOOOHHHHH  
GC: TH4T 1S W1CK3D!  
GC: 1 4M SO DOWN FOR TH4T >:]  
GC: L3TS GO TR1CK TH3 L3G3ND4RY COOLK1D

JS: MU4H4H4H4H4H4 >:]

GC: TH4T W4S TH3 B3ST 3V1L L4UGH 3V3R

JS: WHY TH4NK YOU!

justiceScream [JS]  ceased responding to memo

gallowsCalibrator [GC]  ceased responding to memo

gardenGnostic [GG] ceased responding to memo

golgothasTerror [GT]  ceased responding to memo

carcinoGeneticist [CG]  ceased responding to memo

capriciousMiracles [CM] is an idle chum!

TG: wowz  
TG: thisd meem is waxed  
TG: waxed to thr max lol  
TG: *memo *this *wacked *the  
TG: thw struggtleer ids reel!  
TG: wow fucjk thart sentehnce  
TG: *the *struggle *is  
TG: *fuck *that *sentece  
TG: *setence  
TG: *senttense  
TG: *fuck it

tipsyGnostolgic [TG]  ceased responding to memo

gutsyGumshoe [GG]  ceased responding to memo

AG: Would you look at that!!!!!!!!  
AG: I didn’t say a word this entiiiiiiiire memo! ::::)  
AG: Meenah would 8e proud ::::)

CC: But since s)(ells not )(ere, I’ll be proud of you for )(er! }8-)

AG: Awe!  
AG: Thank you ::::)

CC: No probubble!

cullingCuddlefish [CC]  ceased responding to memo

AG: M8n do I m8ss my fr8ends ::::(

arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased responding to memo

kittensWrath [KW]  ceased responding to memo

hoofbeastTamer [HT]  ceased responding to memo

RW: dAMNIT, i HATE BEING A SLOW READER  
RW: uHHH, aT LEAST iM NOT THE LAST ONE THOUGH  
RW: i, uHHH,,, gUESS THATS NOT SO BAD?

SD: stop 8eing such a pansycake!!!!!!!!  
SD: you gott8 s8y it l8ke you me8n it!!!!!!!!

RW: AT LEAST IM NOT THE LAST ONE TO FINISH READING THAT MAKES IT NOT SO BAD THAT IM A REALLY SLOW READER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SD: TH8TS M8RE L8KE IT!!!!!!!!

RB: wwelp  
RB: im gone  
RB: this wwas a total wwaste of my time  
RB: oh wwell

royalBuffoon [RB] ceased responding to memo

BM: I Believe I Will Take My Leave As Well  
BM: If Anyone Needs Me, You Know My Chumhandle

bigMamma [BM] ceased responding to memo

RW: oH NO!  
RW: uHHH, sD,,, yOU AND ME ARE THE ONLY TWO LEFT!  
RW: i AM DEFINITELY GOING TO LEAVE THE MEMO BEFORE YOU!

spiderificDiva [SD]  ceased responding to memo

RW: dAMNIT

capriciousMiracles [CM]  responded to memo

CM: DoNt MoThErFuCkInG wOrRy BrO  
CM: iLl ClOsE tHe MeMo DoWn

RW: aWE, tHANKS CM }:-)  
RW: yOURE THE BEST

CM: No MoThErFuCkInG pRoBlEm BrO :o)

rocketlauncherWheelchair [RW]  ceased responding to memo

capriciousMiracles [CM]  closed memo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so holy shit this chapter is fucking long. what the fuck.
> 
> what do you think of that FUCKING LONG memo? idk how I feel about that yet. did you like Vantera and Makaera's feelings jam? GAH you dont understand how much I love those two <3 
> 
> Next update will be Friday, June 20th!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	14. ChApTeR fIvE: nIgHtMaReS aNd DrEaMbUbBlEs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2 chapters are written with Makaera's (Gamzee's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on him learning to control the monsters in him. It will also give an explanation of how Homestuck came to be in this world. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter! It feels like its been so long since I last posted but its really only been two weeks. Anyways, sorry this chapter is kind of short :/ but i guess it makes up for how UNGODLY LONG chapter four was. lol :33
> 
> E N J O Y !

**ChApTeR fIvE: nIgHtMaReS aNd DrEaM bUbBlEs**

When Makaera opened his eyes, at first he didn’t know where he was. He remembered falling asleep with Vantera—wrapped around him like a blanket—on their bed, but that was the last thing he remembered. He couldn’t remember how he got here. He was in a dark red room, the walls splattered with color. There were words scrawled and dripping on the walls.

 _Kill them all,_ the words said.

And Makaera remembered where he was.

_PAINT THE WICKED PICTURES WITH THEIR MOTHERFUCKING BLOOD._

This was where he always ended up when he fell asleep.

_From their veins will drip my motherfucking miracles._

It was the only place he had ever wanted to escape from, and the only place he couldn’t escape.

 _THEIR CRUSHED BONES WILL MAKE MY SPECIAL STARDUST_.

But only in his dreams.

_Welcome to the dark carnival brother._

He could never remember this place when he woke up.

_I’M GOING TO MOTHERFUCKING KILL ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS._

It faded as quickly as he shot out of dreamland, shaking and dripping with sweat.

_HONK!_

And when he fell asleep again, he was left to remember and live it all over again.

_They were always both me._

Sometimes he wondered why he couldn’t remember the dreams when he woke up.

_AND ALSO MOTHERFUCKING ME._

Why he couldn’t remember that he was afraid to fall asleep and dream.

_Higher than them brother._

And then he would remember; because he wasn’t in control when he slipped into unconsciousness.

_HIGHER THAN MOTHERFUCKING EVERYBODY._

When Makaera fell asleep, the darkness would take over. The voices that screamed in his head when he lost control, telling him to kill his friends. It controlled his mind; controlled what he saw as he dreamed. The hateful, twisted Makaera would come out to play.

_HONK honk motherfuckers._

The side of him that liked to kill.

_It rots you._

‘What?’

_THE MOTHERFUCKING DRUGS RUSTS YOUR MOTHERFUCKING THINKPAN._

‘…Shut up.’

_and the floor all stares up back at you through the motherfucking hole._

‘Shut up.’

_BUT THERE IS NO HOLE NOW._

‘No. _Shut up_.’

_only under motherfuckin standing of who all we was made out to be all along._

‘Be quiet!’

_ONLY UNDER MOTHERFUCKIN STANDING OF WHE ALL WE WAS MADE OUT TO MOTHERFUCKING BE ALL A MOTHERFUCKING LONG._

‘Shut up, shut up, _SHUT UP!_ ’

_…come at me motherfucker._

Suddenly, Makaera was standing in front of a mirror. At first, it was just him staring back at him; eyes wide and hands fisted in his hair. But then his mouth twisted into an evil smile; he dropped his hands back to his sides and straightened up to his full six feet, eleven inches.

_ONE DAY I’LL GET OUT BROTHER. and when i do, I’LL MOTHERFUCKING LOCK YOU AWAY. and you won’t ever get out. SEE HOW YOU MOTHERFUCKING LIKE BEING LOCKED AWAY. you can’t escape motherfucker. NO MATTER WHERE YOU RUN. no matter where you hide. I’LL MOTHERFUCKING FIND YOU. i will have my motherfucking freedom. YOU CAN MOTHERFUCKING COUNT ON THAT._

Then, Makaera was the one on the inside looking out. He was the one trapped inside the mirror.

The evil Makaera just smiled sinisterly and turned to walk out the door Makaera had never noticed before.

Makaera screamed and pounded his fists on the glass, trying to break free. He had to escape; had to warn Vantera. Had to warn everyone. He had to get out before it was too late. Before the darkness inside him took over and forced him to kill everyone.

‘No!’ he screamed. ‘No, no, no, _no, NO!_ ’

He banged on the glass until his hands were a bloody mess. He screamed until his throat was raw. He screamed for Vantera; screamed for _anyone_. Begged for someone to come and wake him from the nightmare. But he knew it was useless.

In here, there was no one to hear him.

~

When Vantera opened his eyes, he was met with a world of color. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but here he was. In what was unmistakably a dream bubble.

He was somewhere on LOTAF, Terezi’s world from Sgrub. That meant that either the alpha timeline Terezi was here somewhere, or one of her doomed timeline selves was here.

‘Then again,’ Vantera thought as he sat up and looked around, ‘she could not be here, and this is just some memory from someone else.’

Vantera blinked when he realized he was not alone. With all the bright colors around him, he had completely missed the person perched on one of the crocodile statues nearby. He wasn’t sure how that was possible, seeing as the person was cloaked in a dark, muddy red that contrasted the brightness of the world around them. His face was covered by his hood, but Vantera knew who it was anyways. The sickles sitting in his lap gave very little room for doubt.

“Karkat,” Vantera said in greeting, getting to his feet.

Karkat pulled the hood off his head and scowled at him.

Seeing his eyes, Vantera knew immediately that this was one of the many dead Karkats running around in the dream bubbles. Even knowing this though, Vantera still felt the burning hatred and irritation he associated with his feelings for Karkat bubbling up inside him.

He suppressed the urge to growl.

He must not have been very good at keeping his emotions off his face though, because Karkat raised one, thin eyebrow at him.

Karkat adjusted his grip on his sickles, which made Vantera nervous. He didn’t have a weapon to fight with if things went bad.

“So, which Tera are you?” Karkat asked, slipping off the statue and landing nimbly on his feet.

The question caught Vantera off guard and for a moment, he just blinked dumbly at Karkat.

“Excuse me?” he finally asked.

Karkat scowled and made a motion that made Vantera think he was rolling his eyes. He couldn’t really tell since Karkat’s eyes were entirely white and pupil-less.

“You heard me,” Karkat said. “Which Tera are you?”

“Yeah, I heard you,” Vantera snarled. “I just don’t fucking understand what the fuck you’re asking me. Which Tera am I? What the fuck kind of question is that? I don’t know any other Teras. How the fucking hell do you even know me? Pretty fucking sure we haven’t met.”

“Oh, you’re the alpha Tera,” Karkat said. He didn’t even seem fazed by Vantera’s anger. “We haven’t met directly before, but I know a couple dead Teras. One of them’s my kismesis. I was asking ‘cause I wasn’t sure which one I was dealing with.”

As he spoke, he re-captchalogued his sickles.

Vantera relaxed just slightly at this. It meant Karkat wasn’t looking to fight with him, at least.

“Wait,” Vantera said, bristling again as he processed just what Karkat had said. “One of _my_ doomed timeline selves is _your kismesis_?!”

Karkat shot him a wicked, humorless grin, made even more sinister by the unnatural whiteness of his eyes.

“Why?” he asked, still grinning. “Does that bother you?”

“Fuck, yes it bothers me!” Vantera snapped. “How does it not bother you? We’re alternate reality selves! We’re practically the same person!!”

Karkat scoffed at that.

“Must I fucking remind you that the alpha-Karkat very nearly started a kismesissitude with his past and future selves?” Karkat sneered. “That’s _literally_ the same person. And you think I would be bothered by being kismesis with my alternate self? Please.”

Vantera paused. Yeah, he had completely forgotten about that.

Instead of telling that to Karkat, though, Vantera decided to start on another train of thought.

“How are there _already_ dead fucking versions of me running around?” he asked. “I thought that was something that only happens in the fucking game?”

“Obviously not,” Karkat scoffed. “The fucking dream bubbles are something that can only be _made_ in the fucking game, but once they enter the outside world, all bets are off, apparently.”

“Are there dead versions of the other humans?” Vantera asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Karkat nodded. “I haven’t fucking met all of them yet, but I’m pretty sure there’s at least one dead version for all you fuckasses.”

“Fucking _great_ ,” Vantera snarled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Right?” Karkat agreed, looking more amused that irritated. “Anyways, I have something to fucking give you.”

Vantera blinked when he pulled out his original sickles and thrusted them towards him.

“Why the fuck are you giving me these?” he asked, taking the sickles from Karkat warily.

Karkat shrugged.

“I don’t fucking need them anymore,” he replied, “and you do. You guys are gonna be caught up in fighting Lord English and his fucking cohorts soon, and you’ll need something to fight with so you don’t fucking die like your doomed self. I may hate you, but that doesn’t fucking mean I want you to die.” He gave another wicked grin. “Besides, how the fuck is alpha Karkat going to respect you if you don’t have a way to fight him?”

Vantera barked out a laugh.

“If you’re kismesis with my fucking doomed self,” he said, “then you should know that I don’t just fight with fucking blades.”

Karkat laughed at that.

“Oh, I know,” he said, chuckling. “Gave me a fucking wicked black eye when we first started. Alpha-Karkat’s got another thing coming to him if he seriously fucking believes you humans are weak.”

Vantera couldn’t help but grin. So maybe not all the Karkat’s were assholes. Maybe just the alpha one.

“Looks like you’re gonna wake up soon,” Karkat observed.

Vantera glanced around, noticing that his surroundings were starting to blur and everything was getting hard to hear, like his head was underwater.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Give alpha-Karkat hell from me, will you?”

Karkat grinned again and then he faded away into blackness.

~

Vantera practically flew straight out of the bed when something hit him in the stomach.

As it was, he shot up into a sitting position, rolled, and ended up crouching at the foot of the bed, his teeth bared in a feral snarl. Vantera’s eyes darted around the dark room, checking for intruders or anything out of the ordinary. When he didn’t see anything or hear any words coming to attack his head, he took a deep breath and looked at Makaera.

Now it made sense why he had been jerked so rudely back to reality.

Makaera was twitching are thrashing in his sleep, a pained expression on his face and sweat dripping down his neck. He looked like he was at war with himself.

“ _No…_ ” Makaera groaned, his body giving another little spasm.

Vantera crawled back up the bed to lightly shake Makaera’s shoulder, hoping to jolt him out of his nightmare. It didn’t have any effect, not that he had really expected it to.

“No…” Makaera said again, his face twisting in agony. “ _Vantera!_ ”

Vantera jumped when Makaera practically screamed his name. Was Makaera having a nightmare about him? What in the seven hells was he dreaming about?

“I’m right here, fuckass,” Vantera said gently, shaking Makaera’s shoulder again. “Wake up.”

This time, Makaera’s eyes flew open and he shot into a sitting position, bringing him literally nose to nose with Vantera. His bright purple eyes were wide and terrified, and when they fixed on his red ones, Vantera saw waves of panic in them.

“ _Run_ …” Makaera breathed, and then he leaned forward and kissed Vantera.

Vantera blinked, startled. This was the second time Makaera had kissed him in a week. That was _definitely_ not normal.

Unlike the first kiss, Vantera was in a position where he could pull away if he wanted to. However, he wasn’t sure he wanted to pull away. Makaera’s lips were soft and warm, and they felt good moving against his own. Instead, he just held still and let Makaera kiss him.

The kiss didn’t last very long, and when Makaera pulled away, his eyes were slightly calmer. His eyes held a half apologetic look in them, but, other than that, he didn’t acknowledge the kiss at all. Like it hadn’t even happened.

“It’s getting harder to all up an’ control, bro,” he croaked after a moment, flopping back down on the bed and throwing an arm over his eyes.

Vantera knew instantly what he was talking about: the voices in his head. He also knew that Makaera didn’t need words right now. He needed to talk, and spill out the nightmare he’d had. So, he just hummed softly and began tracing the musical tattoo that started over Makaera’s heart and twisted down his arm with his fingertips.

The motion seemed to soothe Makaera, because he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, he began to speak.

“I ain’t never remembered the dreams before,” Makaera said softly. “Probably gonna motherfucking forget this dream too by morning. They’re horrible… nightmares.”

He shuddered.

After a prolonged pause, Vantera prompted, “What did you dream about?”

Makaera lifted his arm just enough to look at him and asked, “You sure you wanna know, bro?”

Vantera sighed exasperatedly.

“Yes, I’m sure you pan-fried nookstain,” he said. “Now spill.”

Makaera chuckled a little, but it didn’t hold any humor in it.

“The dream always motherfucking starts with me standing in an empty room,” he began. “Everything is dark red, except for the motherfucking words on the walls. Those are written in motherfucking rainbow colors. I think its blood. The words say motherfucking horrible things, and as I look at them, the motherfucking voices in my head start motherfucking speaking them at me.

“I don’t ever really up and realize it right away. But when I do, the voice starts motherfucking talking to me. Says that he’s gonna get free and motherfucking lock me away. ‘S motherfucking awful, bro.”

“Mmm…” Vantera hummed again, beginning to softly hum the notes of music that were tattooed on Makaera’s arm. He knew the song well; it was the _Dark Carnival_.

“I can’t remember what happened in all them other motherfucking dreams,” Makaera continued, “but in this one, I was suddenly standing in front of a motherfucking mirror. And the motherfucker looking back at me from the other side… it wasn’t me. It was the evil motherfucker what lives inside me. The one that motherfucking wants to lock me away.

“And then _I_ was the motherfucker on the inside looking out, and he was motherfucking free. He left the room, something I ain’t _never_ been able to motherfucking do. I got motherfucking scared, bro. I was scared he was gonna motherfucking hurt you.”

Makaera was sobbing now, his face scrunched up and tears pouring freely out of his eyes.

Vantera moved his hand to Makaera’s cheek, gently wiping the tears away.

“Hey,” he murmured. “Don’t cry, fuckass. I’m right here. I’m fine. You’re fine; it was just a fucking dream.”

Makaera grabbed Vantera’s wrist, opening his eyes wide again to look at him.

“But what if it motherfucking wasn’t?” he asked. “What if that motherfucker is getting stronger? What if he gets out again, and this time it’s, like, motherfucking permanent?”

“Then I will fucking shoosh him right back where he came from,” Vantera said, glaring at him. “And don’t you dare think I can’t. I’ve been doing it for eleven fucking years, and I’m not about to stop now. And once that fucker is taken care of, I will break into your painfully inadequate thinkpan and drag you out again. Doesn’t matter how fucking deep in he’s got you locked up. There’s nothing in this fucking world that could stop me from finding your stupid ass.”

Makaera gave a small grin.

“Thanks, brother,” he said. “Got me feeling like things might be alright.”

“Alright?” Vantera snorted. “Fuck that. Things are gonna be motherfucking perfect. As long as I’m here, I’m never gonna let any fucker take you away. No matter what happens, I’m always gonna be here for you. Don’t you ever forget that. You’re fucking stuck with me.”

Makaera reached up with his long arms and wound them around Vantera, pulling him down for a bone-crushing hug.

Vantera let out a short breath of laughter, and wound his own arms around Makaera’s neck, resting his head on his chest—right on the bass cleft symbol tattooed over his heart. He could hear Makaera’s heart beating. It was a strangely comforting sound, he had discovered. He liked to listen to it as he fell asleep.

Makaera smiled up at the ceiling. He sometimes forgot how strong his best friend really was. It was times like this, when Vantera would look at him, his eyes an endless sea of burning rage and passion, that he would be reminded of just how strong Vantera could be. Makaera knew that, no matter what happened—no matter the monster in his head—Vantera would always be strong enough to handle it. He had to be.

Even though he didn’t want to fall asleep again and face the nightmare all over again, Makaera felt his eyelids growing heavy as he listened to Vantera’s soft, steady breathing. He was slipping under, and he knew it would be easier to just succumb to it rather than fight off sleep.

With a soft sigh, Makaera gave himself up to sleep, letting it drag him under into unconsciousness…

Back to the red room painted with blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Like, it was such a fucking breeze for me. I just blew through it no problem. I just... gosh I love this chapter.
> 
> Anyways, what do you guys think? This chapter had a little more pale action between Vantera and Makaera, but thank Gog it wasn't as heavy as last chapter's! Although maybe that's just me getting used to writing that pale action? I don't know. Whatever. LOL. Let me know your thoughts! I love reading comments left by people who read the story and enjoyed it!!! <33
> 
> Next update will be Friday, July 4. See you then!


	15. ChApTeR sIx: I fEeL lIkE a MoNsTeR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter of Act 2! Act 2 chapters are written with Makaera's (Gamzee's alternate reality self) typing quirk and focus on him learning to control the monsters in him. It will also give an explanation of how Homestuck came to be in this world. Let me know how I do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another relatively short chapter. I literally wrote this thing in one day. SO.FUCKING.EASY. The words just spewed the fuck forth like niagra falls (OHMYGOG WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME I AM TURNING INTO FUCKING KARKAT).
> 
> Anyways, happy fourth of july everybody! If you're reading this on the fourth of july, GET OFF YOUR SILLY ASS AND GO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY YOU BULGELICKER!!! I don't even know why I'm posting this chapter right now when I should be out with my family -.-
> 
> E N J O Y !

**ChApTeR sIx: I fEeL lIkE a MoNsTeR**

The week passed in a blur for Makaera. The nights blurred into the days until he couldn’t tell which was real and which was a dream. He never forgot the nightmare he’d had a week before, and that worried him more than anything else. Before, forgetting the nightmare just meant that he was the one in control of his own mind. Now that he could remember them, he worried that his grip on his mind wasn’t as strong as he had thought; that he was losing his grip.

He had the nightmares every night, and they were only getting worse. Makaera tried not to worry Vantera about it; he knew his best friend had other things to stress about, but Vantera took notice of Makaera increasing anxiety anyways.

He spent more and more time in their room, laying on the pile in the middle of the floor with Makaera, just talking about whatever came to mind. Vantera hardly ever left the room except to go to meetings, and even then he often used the memos on pesterchum to have meetings.

Makaera rarely went to the meetings anymore. Gamzee didn’t go all that often either. Makaera usually ended up hanging with him for a few hours, talking about their problems with the voices until their moirails got home. Vantera usually came back and told him all about the meetings anyways, so he didn’t really see the point.

That Friday, Makaera just sat at his desk, resting his head on his arms and staring blankly out the window at the sky. Gamzee had ended up going to the meeting with Vantera and Karkat.

Vantera hadn’t really liked the idea of leaving Makaera home alone, but he assured him that he’d be fine. He could message Vantera if he really needed anything.

A soft _ping_ drew Makaera out of his thoughts. He glanced over at his laptop, which was sitting open on one side of the desk. The screen was alight with colors, and a blinking near the bottom alerted him that he had a message. With a sigh, Makaera opened up pesterchum to see who was pestering him, only to be met with a strange chumhandle. It seemed familiar, somehow. And Makaera couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen the name before.

He decided to open the message and see what this person had to say. Maybe that would jog his memory as to where he had met this motherfucker before.

 

viciousSexy [VS]  began trolling  capriciousMiracles [CM]

VS: MOTHERFUCKING hello :o)

CM: HeY mOtHeRfUcKeR!  
CM: iF yOu DoNt MiNd Me AsKiNg...  
CM: wHo ThE fUcK iS tHiS?

VS: i dont mind you aSking :o)  
VS: my name iS Sanier darkle  
VS: i believe vankat may have MOTHERFUCKING mentioned me in your laSt meeting

 

That helped jog Makaera’s memory some. He remembered the name and the memo where Vantera had told everyone about the mysterious troll. He hadn’t really been paying a whole lot of attention to what was all up and said though.

 

CM: mAn I dOnT aLl Up An PaY aTtEnTiOn To WhAt GoEs On In ThoSe MeEtInGs! I jUsT lIkE tO gEt My MoThErFuCkInG cHiLl On WiTh VeEbRo  
CM: AnD sOmEtImEs HaVe LiTtLe KiSmEsIs FiGhTs WiTh Py :o)  
CM: hOnK!  
CM: bUt YeAh I tHiNk I rEmEmBeR hIm MeNtIoNiNg YoU At SoMe PoInT.  
CM: aCtUaLlY, nOw I tHiNk AbOuT iT, tHeRe WaS a WhOlE lOt Of MeNtIoNiNg BeInG dOnE aBoUt YoU  
CM: bRo HaD tHiS wHoLe MoThErFuCkInG sPeEcH aBoUt YoU. sAiD yOu WaS sOmE sOrT oF tRoLl FrOm OuR uNiVeRsE  
CM: aS oPpOsEd To ThE hOmEsTuCk UnIvErSe  
CM: wHiCh Is PrEtTy MoThErFuCkInG cOoL!

VS: yeS that iS MOTHERFUCKING right :o)  
VS: did he mention the MOTHERFUCKING circumStanceS in which i came to your MOTHERFUCKING planet?

CM: No MoThErFuCkInG iDeA  
CM: pRoBaBlY?  
CM: lIkE i SaId, I dOnT pAy MuCh MoThErFuCkInG aTtEnTiOn To WhAtS sAiD aT tHoSe MoThErFuCkInG mEeTiNgS

VS: *Sigh*  
VS: thatS alright  
VS: i waS just hoping i wouldnt have to MOTHERFUCKING repeat mySelf

CM: sOrRy BrO :o(  
CM: Im JuSt NoT vErY gOoD aT sTaYiNg FoCuSsEd FoR lOnG pErIoDs Of TiMe. ShItS bOrInG  
CM: nO oFfEnSe :o\

VS: none MOTHERFUCKING taken :o)  
VS: i underStand how MOTHERFUCKING difficult it muSt be  
VS: you and i were just not MOTHERFUCKING made to pay attention to one thing for extended periodS of time!  
VS: i have only managed to overcome thiS through MOTHERFUCKING SweepS of practice and conditioning

CM: Ok…?

VS: anywayS  
VS: all i really wanted to do waS introduce mySelf  
VS: im trying to Say hi to everyone and get to know the people who i will be entering the MOTHERFUCKING medium with! :o)

CM: CoOl!  
CM: WeLl, Im MaKaErA  
CM: iDk If YoU kNeW tHaT aLrEaDy  
CM: mOtHeRfUcKiNg NiCe To MeEt YoU!

VS: lol :o)  
VS: i DID MOTHERFUCKING know that, funnily enough  
VS: i know all your nameS ;o)  
VS: not to Sound creepy or anything…  
VS: haha :oP HONK!

CM: hOnK!  
CM: hAhA :o)  
CM: So YoUrE gOnNa Be JoInInG oUr SeSsIoN? tHaTs CoOl. I gUeSs I dIdNt KnOw It WaS pOsSiBlE tO hAvE mOrE tHaN 12 pLaYeRs. IsNt ThAt LiKe ThE mAxImUm Or SoMe ShIt?  
CM: Or MaYbE iTs JuSt ThAt ThErEs OnLy 12 AsPeCtS  
CM: oR... wAiT.  
CM: hOw MaNy AsPeCtS aRe ThErE aGaIn?

VS: there iS a MOTHERFUCKING infinite amount of MOTHERFUCKING aSpectS :o3  
VS: the limit of how many MOTHERFUCKING playerS there can be in a MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion iS actually baSed on the MOTHERFUCKING claSSeS  
VS: not aSpectS  
VS: there are MOTHERFUCKING fourteen known claSSeS, but im almoSt poSitive there are more than that  
VS: So aS you can See  
VS: you are not at the MOTHERFUCKING maximum capacity for your SeSSion :o)

CM: Oh Ok :o)  
CM: So WhAt Is YoUr GoD tIeR tHeN?

VS: i am the MOTHERFUCKING muSE of rage!

CM: bUt RaGe Is My AsPeCt MoThErFuCkEr :o(  
CM: HoW cAn We BoTh AlL uP aN bE mOtHeRfUcKiNg RaGe PlAyErS?

VS: MOTHERFUCKING Simple!  
VS: i am not really part of your SeSSion!  
VS: i am actually a glitch!

CM: a GlItCh? WhAt DoEs ThAt AlL uP aN mOtHeRfUcKiNg MeAn?

VS: well…  
VS: aS a glitch i am not required to follow the MOTHERFUCKING ruleS that Skia haS Set up for the reSt of you. thiS meanS that i will have the MOTHERFUCKING aSpect i would have had in another SeSSion  
VS: regardleSS of whether or not thiS MOTHERFUCKING aSpect iS already taken. it alSo meanS that i am granted acceSS to MOTHERFUCKING SyStem control :o)  
VS: that meanS that i will have Some control over the entire MOTHERFUCKING game itSelf. it iS a limited amount of MOTHERFUCKING control  
VS: but control nonetheleSS :o3

CM: WoW. tHaT sOuNdS pReTtY mOtHeRfUcKiNg AwEsOmE. yOuLl Be AlL lIkE tEaRiNg Up ThE gAmE iN tHeRe AnD sHiT :o)  
CM: MoThErFuCkInG aWeSoMe  
CM: SoUnDs LiKe YoUlL pRoBaBlY gUaRaNtEe OuR mOtHeRfUcKiNg ViCtOrY

VS: it iS certainly a diStinct MOTHERFUCKING poSSibility!  
VS: but i would not go So far aS to Say it will guarantee our MOTHERFUCKING victory. i am pretty Sure Skia haS accounted for my MOTHERFUCKING arrival in your MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion aS a glitch and will act accordingly in order to make the MOTHERFUCKING SeSSion aS difficult, eaSy, or—quite poSSibly—impoSSible aS it MOTHERFUCKING would have been without me.  
VS: i Still believe we will be able to MOTHERFUCKING win though :o)

CM: i SuRe MoThErFuCkInG hOpE sO :o\  
CM: CaNt SaY iM sUpEr FuCkInG eXcItEd AbOuT pLaYiNg ThIs GaMe AfTeR rEaDiNg HoMeStUcK.  
CM: SeRiOuSlY.  
CM: tHeRe HaVe BeEn, WhAt? FoUr VeRsIoNs Of ThE gAmE pLaYeD sO fAr? AnD hAvE aNy Of ThOsE sEsSiOnS aCtUaLlY bEeN sUcEsSfUl?  
CM: FuCk No!  
CM: DoEsNt ReAlLy CaLm My ThInKpAn WhEn YoU lOoK aT iT lIkE tHaT. tHe OdDs ArE mOtHeRfUcKiNg StAcKeD aGaInSt Us

VS: i agree  
VS: it iS a little MOTHERFUCKING diSconcerting  
VS: Still  
VS: i will hold on to my belief that we will prevail and win thiS MOTHERFUCIKING game!

CM: HaHa YoU gOt MoThErFuCkInG oPtImIsM iLl GiVe YoU tHaT mUcH :o)  
CM: mAyBe YoUrE rIgHt. IlL tRy To StAy PoSiTiVe AnD tHiNk On ThE bRiGhT sIdE.  
CM: i BeEn KiNdA dOwN iN tHe DuMpS lAtElY. i NeEd To KeEp My MoThErFuCkInG sPiRiTs Up!

VS: awe why have you been down in the MOTHERFUCKING dumpS lately?

CM: ItS nOtHiNg ReAl ImPoRtAnT. jUsT sOmE sTuFf GaMzEe HaS bEeN tElLiNg Me :o(  
CM: HeS bEeN tElLiNg Me A bIt AbOuT hIs AdVeNtUrE, aNd ItS jUsT bEeN mAkInG mE kInD oF sAd.

VS: why iS that?

CM: WeLl A lOt Of BaD tHiNgS wEnT dOwN iN tHeRe SeSsIoN, eSpEcIaLlY tOwArDs ThE eNd.  
CM: A lOt Of HiS fRiEnDs DiEd, AnD hE eVeN kIlLeD 2 oF tHeM :o(  
CM: aNd He ThInKs He WoUlD hAvE kEpT kIlLiNg ThEm If KaRkAt HaDnT bEeN tHeRe To MoThErFuCkInG sHoOsH aNd PaP tHoSe MoThErFuCkInG vOiCeS rIgHt OuT oF hIs ThInKpAn.  
CM: BuT hE sAyS iTs BeEn GeTtInG a LoT hArDeR lAtElY. tHe VoIcEs ArE gEtTiNg LoUdEr AnD tHeY kEeP tElLiNg HiM tO dO tHiNgS hE dOnT wAnNa Do. LiKe KiLl VeEbRo Or KaRbRo. AnD hE dOeSnT wAnT tO hUrT tHeM cAuSe ThEyRe HiS bEsT bRoS.  
CM: hE tRiEs To KeEp It HiDdEn, MaKe It LoOk LiKe HeS oK sO nObOdY wOrRiEs Or FeElS uNcOmFoRtAbLe ArOuNd HiM, bUt SoMeTiMeS hE sLiPs Up  
CM: AnD... wElL, eVeR sInCe I sTaRtEd TaLkInG tO hIm, ThE mOtHeRfUcKiNg VoIcEs In My HeAd HaVe BeEn GeTtInG lOuDeR tOo :o(  
CM: SoMeTiMeS iTs ReAl MoThErFuCkInG hArD tO kEeP tHe VoIcEs UnDeR cOnTrOl  
CM: To KeEp ThE dArKnEsS fRoM tAkInG oVeR.  
CM: wEvE bEeN lUcKy So FaR tHaT wHeNeVeR i Go InTo RaGe MoDe, VeEbRo Is ThErE tO cAlM mE dOwN  
CM: wElL... eXcEpT fOr ThAt OnE tImE  
CM: wEvE aLsO bEeN rEaLlY lUcKy ThAt IvE nEvEr AcTuAlLy HuRt HiM wHeN tHe DaRkNeSs TaKeS oVeR mY tHiNkPaN. bUt I tHiNk ItS oNlY a MaTtEr Of TiMe  
CM: AnD, iF iM bEiNg ReAlLy MoThErFuCkInG hOnEsT wItH mYsElF...  
CM: iM sCaReD :o(

VS: oh dear :o(  
VS: i am very Sorry to MOTHERFUCKING hear that!  
VS: but  
VS: i do have Some good information that might help you MOTHERFUCKING feel a little better :o)

CM: wHaT iS iT?

VS: you are VERY MOTHERFUCKING LUCKY to have the friendS you do :o)  
VS: they care very much about you  
VS: vankat eSpecially ;o)  
VS: i think that if you were to MOTHERFUCKING aSk them for help  
VS: they would Support you whole-MOTHERFUCKING-heartedly and without queStion :o)

CM: …  
CM: tHaNkS bRo :o)  
CM: BeEn FeElInG aLl SoRtS oF uNfOrTuNaTe LaTeLy, BuT nOw Im FeElInG lIkE eVeRyThInG mIgHt Be Ok

VS: MOTHERFUCKING damn Straight it will!  
VS: everything will MOTHERFUCKING work out alright in the end  
VS: youll See!  
VS: and if you ever feel like the MOTHERFUCKING voiceS are Starting to wear you down  
VS: you are alwayS MOTHERFUCKING welcome to come talk to me!  
VS: i have experience dealing with the MOTHERFUCKING voiceS aS well, and may be able to provide Some helpful advice :o)

CM: ThAnKs BrO :o)  
CM: fEeLiNg BeTtEr NoW aFtEr LiStEnInG tO yOu TaLk.  
CM: If A pUrPlE bLoOdEd MoThErFuCkEr Is AbLe To FaCe ThE mOtHeRfUcKiNg VoIcEs AnD cOmE bAcK aLiVe, ThEn MaYbE i CaN tOo.  
CM: MoThErFuCkInG mIrAcLeS :o)  
CM: hOnK :oD

VS: HONK! :o3  
VS: MOTHERFUCKING miracleS iS MOTHERFUCKING right bro!

CM: HaHa HoNk :o)

VS: talk to you later makaera!  
VS: keep your head up and dont let no MOTHERFUCKER get you down!  
VS: YOU MOTHERFUCKING GOT THIS!!!

CM: dAmN sTrAiGhT :o)  
CM: LaTeR vIcIoUs SiStEr!

viciousSexy [VS]  ceased trolling  capriciousMiracles [CM]

 

After talking to Sanier, Makaera really did feel better. He felt the most hopeful he had all week. Sanier was a purpleblooded troll with an even darker color that Gamzee. Makaera knew that Gamzee would always have it worse, because his color was a true purple while Sanier’s was a blacker shade, but if Sanier had been able to face those voices and control them, maybe Makaera would be able to too.

He had never thought of the possibilities of another person sharing his problems. Makaera had always thought that Gamzee would be the only one he would be able to connect with; the only one who truly knew what he was going through. Now that he knew another person had gone through the same thing he and Gamzee were going through, though, Makaera realized just how wrong he had been.

He had a dozen awesome friends who would be willing to help him, even if they didn’t really understand what he was going through. One of those friends was his best friend; his moirail; his flushcrush. Another one of those friends was his kismesis, the one sworn to help him become a better person by teasing, fighting, and goatherding him on a daily basis. Still another one of those friends was his little meowbeast friend, whom he was pretty sure had some wicked pale feelings for him. And the newest of those friends was Sanier, who knew how he felt better than anyone except Gamzee, and actually had helpful advice to give on the matter, unlike Gamzee.

Makaera smiled and laid down on the pile. It had been a few hours since his housemates left, but he knew it would still be a few more before they came back. That would be just enough time for him to take a short nap and confront the darkness head on.

Makaera closed his eyes and drifted to sleep with a small smile on his painted face.

~

He was standing in the red room again. The walls were still splattered in blood, cruel words jumping out at his thinkpan. The mirror that had materialized during his dream a week ago was still hanging on the wall. Nothing had changed, but Makaera knew that was a lie. Everything had changed. He was no longer afraid.

_Kill them all._

Just like every night, the voices started up almost immediately, whispering in his ear.

_PAINT THE WICKED PICTURES WITH THEIR MOTHERFUCKING BLOOD._

This time, however, Makaera felt clear-headed. He realized almost instantly when the voices started talking.

_From their veins will drip my motherfucking miracles._

Makaera was ready for it.

_THEIR CRUSHED BONES WILL MAKE MY SPECIAL STARDUST._

‘Why don’t you motherfucking shut up, bro?’ Makaera said, moving to stand in front of the mirror and scowl at his reflection.

Just like every night, for a moment, it was just Makaera in the mirror. Then, his face twisted and changed. The clown makeup that covered his face smeared and the scar that had long since closed opened up and dripped dark purple blood down his face.

The evil Makaera grinned at him from inside the mirror.

 _motherfucking shut up?_ his double asked. _THAT’S MOTHERFUCKING FUNNY! as if you even have the courage to stand up to me. YOU’RE MOTHERFUCKING WEAK BRO._

Makaera’s scowl deepened.

‘I am _not_ motherfucking weak, “ _bro_ ”,’ he growled.

The face in the mirror blinked at him, looking almost shocked for a moment.

Makaera felt a surge of accomplishment at this before his double got control of his emotions again and hid them behind his mask of condescending control and rage. Makaera had already seen it though, that flicker of uncertainty. He could fight back; he could break through.

 _you are weak,_ the evil Makaera insisted. _WHY ELSE WOULD YOU ALL UP AND DENY THE MOTHERFUCKING MESSIAHS? you’re too weak to accept their motherfucking miracles. YOU’RE TOO SCARED TO ACCEPT WHO YOU’RE ALL UP AND MOTHERFUCKING MEANT TO BE. you’re the bard of motherfucking rage brother. YOU’RE HIGHER THAN ALL THEM MOTHERFUCKERS. they should be motherfucking honored to stand in your motherfucking presence. THEY SHOULD—_

‘Oh, shut the motherfuck up,’ Makaera cut him off mid-sentence.

Surprise flickered over his reflection’s face once more.

‘I’m all up and done listening to your motherfucking bullshit,’ said Makaera. ‘You’re gonna motherfucking listen to me now.’

_YOU DARE—?_

‘Yeah, I motherfucking dare,’ he snarled, cutting off his double again. ‘ _No_ , don’t you dare open your motherfucking mouth. Just put a motherfucking sock in it for once. I was all up and motherfucking scared of you before, but I ain’t anymore.

‘ _No!_ Shut it, I ain’t finished yet. You ain’t got no motherfucking hold over me anymore. I got you all up and figured out. I was so motherfucking scared of you before, I was just motherfucking making myself vulnerable to you. But I ain’t afraid of you anymore. You got no motherfucking way to all up and motherfucking control me.’

For a moment, the evil Makaera just stared back at him, eyes wide and shocked.

Makaera felt relief coursing through him. He had done it. He had stood up to the darkness; he had stood his ground against it. It held no power over him anymore.

Then, the reflection in the mirror smirked at him and Makaera felt just the tiniest bit of uncertainty rush through him.

_you all up and sure about that bro? YOU ALL UP AND MOTHERFUCKING SURE THAT YOU’RE NOT MOTHERFUCKING SCARED OF US ANYMORE? i don’t motherfucking think so. NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST. you can’t get rid of me so easily. DON’T YOU ALL UP AND MOTHERFUCKING GET IT? you can’t escape me. I’M MOTHERFUCKING YOU. and you’re motherfucking me. I’LL ALWAYS BE ALL UP AND INSIDE YOU. ain’t nothing gonna change that. I’LL BE ALL UP AND LIKE THE BEST MOTHERFUCKING FRIEND YOU AIN’T NEVER HAD. never leaving your motherfucking side. UNLIKE YOUR SO CALLED ‘FRIENDS’._

Makaera shook with anger. How dare the motherfucker say he was more loyal that Makaera’s best bro’s? Sure, they couldn’t always be there for him, but they did their motherfucking best. He couldn’t ask any more than that of them.

‘Don’t you dare motherfucking suggest you’re better than my friends,’ Makaera said, leaning towards the mirror. He imagined that he could reach through the glass and wrap his long fingers around his reflection’s neck.

The evil Makaera’s eyes widened when Makaera did just that. He probably hadn’t expected Makaera to have enough control over the dream to manipulate the dreamscape.

‘My motherfucking bros are the best there motherfucking is,’ he said, squeezing his fingers harshly around his reflection’s neck. ‘They’ll never motherfucking give up on me. They’re always doing their motherfucking best to support my ass. You’re just a motherfucking thorn in my side. You’re no motherfucking friend of motherfucking mine.’

Makaera laughed harshly.

‘You say you’re gonna motherfucking escape? You say you wanna lock me away?’ he chuckled and squeezed tighter. ‘Well, let me motherfucking tell you something. You’re just the motherfucking reflection. You’re nothing more than a motherfucking shadow of me. You’ll never be able to compete with the real motherfucking thing.’

The evil Makaera bared his teeth in a snarl, but Makaera was already finished with him.

Giving him a rough shove, Makaera released his double and pulled his hands back. Immediately, he imagined that the glass the fragile and brittle, easily breakable.

He pulled back his fist and then sent it flying through the glass, shattering the mirror in one punch and going through the wall behind it.

The evil reflection was gone, and Makaera turned to leave. He imagined a door that would let him out of the dream and it appeared in front of him. He opened the door and stepped through it.

As he did, he heard honking laughter. It was soft, fading quickly, but there. The darkness wasn’t quite gone yet, but that didn’t put Makaera down. He had won his first victory against it. He had gone in and faced his fear and won. They would clash again. Next time it would be harder, but Makaera was confident that he would continue to win. The darkness couldn’t hold him down anymore.

~

Makaera blinked his eyes blearily, yawned and stretched on the pile he had curled up in for his nap. As he did, he noticed the familiar weight of Vantera leaning against him.

“Hey, bro,” he said, smiling down at his friend.

Vantera scowled at him.

“Hey, fuckass,” he said. “Nice of you to finally join the world of the living. I’ve been trying to wake you up for like five minutes.”

“Shit, really?” Makaera asked. “I didn’t even motherfucking notice! I guess I was really motherfucking out cold, huh?”

“No fucking kidding,” Vantera said, rolling his eyes.

Then, his expression softened a little and he gave Makaera an almost smile.

“You’re looking better than you were this morning,” he said, brushing Makaera’s hair back and out of his eyes. “Less stressed.”

Makaera grinned at him and grabbed his wrist, kissing his palm.

“I’m all up and motherfucking feeling better,” Makaera said. “Guess all I needed was a little motherfucking sleep.”

Vantera’s eyes smiled, even though his mouth didn’t, and took his hand back from Makaera.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, shithead.”

“Thanks, bro. Me too.”

There was a long moment of silence in which they just sat looking at each other.

Vantera broke the silence first.

“So… uh, you wanna know what happened at the meeting?”

“Shit, bro! Motherfuck, yeah. Tell me what all up and went down at that motherfucking meeting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were so many times as I was writing this chapter that I had to stop and go, "You go Makaera. You tell that motherfucker." Like holy hell can somebody say "fucking badass"? Seriously. He just up and tells his dark side off, CHOKES him through the FUCKING MIRROR, then BREAKS the mirror by punching a fucking hole in it, and walks out of there like he fucking owns the place. I just want to hug him and pet him and tell him how proud I am of him <33
> 
> Oh, and in case it wasn't clear, Makaera just climbed another rung on his Echeladder ;) BTW: the Echeladder and Godtier rungs become VERY important in the next Act!! Which will begin right after the Intermission!


	16. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short intermission before Act 3.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this little Intermission thingy introduces a new aspect of my story; D&D! I'm adding this in now mostly because in the previous chapters, it really wasn't needed. However, the characters will be getting into some fights soon and starting to climb their echeladders a little more, so its time to start developing their battle strengths and stuff. I'm mostly doing this to keep the fights fair (although look at their stats, how the fuck is any of that fair?!). You'll notice that a lot of the slots aren't filled in yet for some of the characters, and that's just because I've been too lazy and busy to do that yet. I might come back and work on this a bit more, but for now... here ya go. lol
> 
> Also, you'll notice that some characters have more money, or items, or weapons, or spells, or other stuff. That all depends on how the character chose to spend their boondollars, basically. Idk I've been awake for almost 16 hours now and I still got 9 more to go before I can go to bed so please excuse me if I don't make a whole lot of sense right now. If anything doesn't make sense, feel free to comment and ask and I will do my best to coherently explain to you what the fuck I'm trying to say. lol
> 
> E N J O Y !

**Intermission**

~VANKAT~ _Seer of Words_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Vantera Karson  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Knight of Blood

 **Class** : Seer  
 **Aspect** : Words  
 **Echeladder** : Chaotic Seer (87)  
 **Godtier** : Seer of Words (0)

 **Gender** : Male  
 **Eyes** : Red  
 **Hair** : Brown  
 **Size** : Small  
 **Height** : 5’4"  
 **Weight** : 100 lbs

 **Homeland** : St. Paul, Minnesota  
 **Languages** : ALL  
 **Vision** : Lowlight / No light

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 86  
 **Die Roll** : 1d10

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 32  
 **Touch AC** : 20  
 **Flat-footed** : 27

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 17 (+3)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 40 Ft  
 **Swim** : 20 Ft  
 **Fly** : 40 Ft

 **Initiative** : +9

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 16  
 **Reflex** : 15  
 **Will** : 15

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 22  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 14  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 9  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 25  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 40

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Karkat’s Sickles: +7 attack, x2 critical (20), 1d10+2 damage  
Special Attacks: Duel Wielder

Webster’s Dictionary: +7 attack, 1d8+3 damage  
Special Attacks: Face-Book

 

 **ARMOR  
** Sweater of Cancer: +2 AC  
Cancerous Binding: +1 AC

 

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +9, Craft: Sickles: +11, Disguise: +6, Escape Artist: +8, Intimidate: +3, Knowledge: Arcana: +12, Knowledge: Dungeoneering: +9, Knowledge: Engineering: +9, Knowledge: History: +10, Linguistics: +10, Perception: +12, Spellcraft: +14, Survival: +9

 **Untrained** : Appraise: +4, Bluff: +2, Climb: +3, Diplomacy: +2, Disable Device: +4, Fly: +6, Handle Animal: +2, Heal: +3, Knowledge: Geography: +4, Knowledge: Local: +5, Knowledge: Nature: +4, Knowledge: Nobility: +5, Knowledge: Planes: +4, Knowledge: Religion: +4, Ride: +4, Sense Motive: +3, Sleight of Hand: +4, Stealth: +4, Swim: +3, Use Magic Device: +6

 

 **FEATS  
** x12 Aspect Combo Flash: Sacrifice HP for damage points, automatic hit

Borrow Aspect: Borrow aspect from a player standing next to or adjacent to you. Lasts for one turn. +10 to attack bonus.

Casting Words: Use words of power to cast spells. +12 to attack bonus

All Knowledge: +1 bonus to any 4 Knowledge skills

Duel Wielding: Use 2 weapons at once. +12 to attack bonus when attacking with two weapons. Miss: Target receives ½ STR damage

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Sicklekind  
Bookkind  
Fistkind

 

 **SPELLS  
** **Level 0** :  
Resistance: Subject gains +1 on saving throws  
Detect Magic: Detects all spells and magic items within 60 Ft.  
Dancing Lights: Creates torches or other lights  
Ray of Frost: Ray deals 1d3 cold damage  
Ghost Sound: Figment sounds  
Bleed: Cause a stabilized creature to resume dying  
Message: Whisper conversation at distance

 **Level 1** :  
Shield: Invisible disc gives +4 to AC, blocks magic missiles  
Comprehend Languages: You understand all spoken and written languages  
True Strike: +20 on your next attack roll  
Burning Hands: 1d4/level fire damage (max 5d4)  
Shocking Grasp: Touch delivers 1d6/level electricity damage (max 5d6)  
Expeditious Retreat: Your base speed increases by 30 Ft

 **Level 2** :  
Darkness: 20ft radius of supernatural shadow  
Shatter: Sonic energy damages objects or crystalline creatures  
Bear's Endurance: Subject gains +4 to CON for 1 min/level  
Bull's Strength: Subject gains +4 to STR for 1 min/level  
Cat's Grace: Subject gains +4 to DEX for 1 min/level

 **Level 3** :  
Tongues: Speak and understand any language  
Heroism: Gives +2 bonus on attack rolls, saves, skill checks  
Rage: Gives +2 to STR and CON, +1 on WILL saves, -2 to AC  
Haste: One creature/level moves faster, +1 on attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves

 **Level 4** :  
Dimension Door: Teleports you a short distance  
Locate Creature: Indicates direction to familiar creature  
Shout: Deafens all within cone and deals 5d6 sonic damage

 **Level 5** :  
Teleport: Instantly transports you as far as 100 miles/level  
Telepathic Bond: Link lets allies communicate

 **Level 6** :  
True Seeing: Lets you see all things as they really are

 **Level 7** :  
Ethereal Jaunt: You become ethereal for one round/level

 **Level 8** :  
Shout, Greater: Devestating yell deals 10d6 sonic damage; stuns creatures

 **Level 9** :  
Foresight: "Sixth sense" warns of impending danger

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 50  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 10,413,612  
 **Boonbucks** : 6  
 **Booncase** : 0  
 **Boonbond** : 0

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** The Sweater of Cancer: Alchemized from Karkat’s sweatshirt and Vantera’s sweatshirt.

Cancer Binding: Alchemized from Vantera’s Sweater, a bra, and chest binding. Chest binding bra in the shape of the Cancer symbol. Makes the wearer have a perfectly flat chest. -20 comfort (beauty is pain)

Karkat’s Sickle: Plain, white sickle.

Karkat’s Sweater: Black sweatshirt with grey cancer symbol (seriously, how did THAT get into your sylladex??)

Vantera’s Sweater: Grey sweatshirt with red cancer symbol

Cancerous Sneakers: Grey sneakers with red cancer symbols on them.

Rainbow Scarf: Knitted rainbow scarf

Webster’s Dictionary: You’ll never have to know how to spell again

Bible: The work of God

IPhone: You never leave home without it

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

Journal: Where you can write down all the words you hear and then forget about them.

Inkpen: So that you can write, obviously

 

 

~MAKAERA~ _Bard of Rage_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Makaera ‘Maka’ Krome/Gamek  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Bard of Rage

 **Class** : Bard  
 **Aspect** : Rage  
 **Echeladder** : Raging Cyclone (69)  
 **Godtier** : Bard of Rage (0)

 **Gender** : Male  
 **Eyes** : Deep Purple  
 **Hair** : Raven Black  
 **Size** : Extra Large  
 **Height** : 6’11”  
 **Weight** : 181 lbs

 **Homeland** : St. Paul, Minnesota  
 **Languages** : English, Motherfucking Miracles  
 **Vision** : Normal / Lowlight

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 70  
 **Die Roll** : 1d12

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 31  
 **Touch AC** : 18  
 **Flat-footed** : 27  
 **Miracles Class [MC]** : 47

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 11  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 13 (+1)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 16 (+3)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 40 Ft  
 **Swim** : 30 Ft  
 **Fly** : 30 Ft

 **Initiative** : +4

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 14  
 **Reflex** : 9  
 **Will** : 13

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 23  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 15  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 14          
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 29  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 43

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Bowling Pins: +7 attack, x2 critical (20), 1d6+3 damage  
Special Attacks: Duel Wielder

Tasty Pie: +7 (+6 for 5-10 Ft) attack, x2 critical (16-20), 1d8+3 damage  
Special Attacks: Point Blank

 

 **ARMOR  
** Miracles T-shirt: +2 AC, +20 MC  
Awful Socks: +4 AC, +4 attack  
Magnificent Hat: +2 AC, +2 MC

 

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +8, Craft: Sopor Slime Pies: +8, Disguise: +7, Escape Artist: +8, Handle Animal: +8, Intimidate: +9, Lingustics: +7, Perception: +12, Perform: Weapons Mastery: +10, Sense Motive: +5, Stealth: +15, Survival: +8

 **Untrained** : Bluff: +3, Climb: +5, Diplomacy: +3, Disable Device: +4, Fly: +6, Heal: +1, Ride: +4, Sleight of Hand: +4, Swim: +5, Use Magic Device: +3

 

 **FEATS  
** Berserking: Allows to attack 3 times in one turn (in addition to moving). +5 attack, +5 fortitude

Anger Management: Allows to ignore all damage points below 5

Duel Wielding: Use two weapons at once. +2 attack bonus when attacking with two weapons. Miss: Target receives ½ Strength.

Rage Mode: +10 attack. Ignore all damage for the next 5 min.

Chucklevoodoos: View the fears of others and increase or decrease them to your liking.

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Clubkind  
Jokerkind  
Fistkind  
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Proficient with all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields)  
Fast Movement: 40ft speed when wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor, and not carrying a heavy load  
Rage & Rage Powers, Greater Rage, Indomitable Will, Tireless Rage, Mighty Rage  
Uncanny Dodge: The ability to react to danger before your senses would normally allow  
Trap Sense: Gains +1 bonus to Reflex saves made to avoid traps and +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps  
Improved Uncanny Dodge: Can no longer be flanked  
Damage Reduction: Subtract 1 from the damage taken each time you are dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack

 

 **SPELLS  
** **Level 1** :  
Dancing Lights: Creates torches or other lights  
Lullaby: Makes subject drowsy: -5 on perception checks, -2 on WILL saves against sleep  
Message: Whisper conversation at distance

 **Level 2** :  
Rage: Gives +2 to STR and CON, +1 on WILL saves, -2 to AC

 **Level 3** :  
Confusion: Subjects behave oddly for 1 round/level  
Fear: Subjects within cone flee for 1 round/level

 **Level 4** :  
Dimension Door: Teleports you a short distance  
Shout: Deafens all within cone and deals 5d6 sonic damage

 **Level 5** :  
Shadow Walk: Step into shadow to travel rapidly

 **Level 6** :  
Shout, Greater: Devestating yell deals 10d6 sonic damage; stuns creatures

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 110  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 988,425  
 **Boonbucks** : 2  
 **Booncase** : 0  
 **Boonbond** : 0

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Tasty Pie: Mmm, Banana Cream!

Miracles T-Shirt: Alchemized from Makaera’s T-Shirt, Grape Faygo, and a Sopor Slime Pie.

Bowling Pins: Standard bowling pins

2 of Clubs Card: A Two of Clubs card from a card game

Makaera’s T-Shirt: Purple T-shirt with black Capricorn symbol

Sopor Slime Pie           : Sopor in a Pie tin. Don’t eat that shit, man, it fucks with your thinkpan.

Codpiece: It’s a Codpiece! (WHAT IS THAT DOING IN YOUR SYLLADEX BULDGELICKER GET IT OUT)

Nails: 5 regular nails. No hammer though, you don’t use Hammerkind.

Grape Faygo: 20 bottles of Faygo. You don’t want all your motherfucking wicked elixirs to be cluttering up the rest of your sylladex. Might as well stuff ‘em all together :o)

Awful Socks: These socks have never been washed. They really stink!

Magnificent Hat: A truly Magnificent Hat.

IPhone: You should never leave home without it

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

 

 

~PYRA~ _Knight of Mind_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Pyra Teraz  
 **Alignment** : Lawful Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Seer of Mind

 **Class** : Knight  
 **Aspect** : Mind  
 **Echeladder** : Telekinetic Lawyer (94)  
 **Godtier** : Knight of Mind (0)

 **Gender** : Female  
 **Eyes** : Grey  
 **Hair** : Red-Brown  
 **Size** : Medium  
 **Height** : 5’8”  
 **Weight** : 115

 **Homeland** : Fargo, North Dakota  
 **Languages** : English, Spanish, German  
 **Vision** : No light (Blind)

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 71  
 **Die Roll** : 1d10

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 30  
 **Touch AC** : 22  
 **Flat-footed** : 27

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 16 (+3)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 22 (+6)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 19 (+4)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 10 Ft  
 **Fly** : 30 Ft

 **Initiative** : +7

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 14  
 **Reflex** : 9  
 **Will** : 16

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 20  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 17  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 5  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 24  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 37

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Spear Cane: +7 attack, x2 critical (17-20), 1d6+3 damage  
Special Attacks: Stabgreet, Lawful Whack

Pool Stick: +5 attack, critical (18-20), 1d6 damage  
Special Attacks: Lawful Whack, Whack-a-Mole

 

 **ARMOR  
** Neophyte Redglare: +3 armor class  
Knight Light: +3 armor class, +2 attack (against lowlight)  
Cute Shoulder Dragon: +4 armor class, +4 attack

 

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Appraise: +11, Bluff: +9, Craft: Canes: +10, Diplomacy: +10, Disguise: +8, Fly: +10, Handle Animal: +8, Intimidate: +8, Knowledge: Dungeoneering: +10, Knowledge: History: +12, Linguistics: +13, Perception: +9, Spellcraft: +11

 **Untrained** : Acrobatics: +4, Climb: +5, Disable Device: +6, Escape Artist: +3, Heal: +8, Knowledge: Arcana: +8, Knowledge: Engineering: +6, Knowledge: Geography: +6, Knowledge: Local: +7, Knowledge: Nature: +6, Knowledge: Nobility: +7, Knowledge: Planes: +6, Knowledge: Religion: +6, Ride: +5, Sense Motive: +5, Sleight of Hand: +3, Stealth: +7, Survival: +7, Swim: +4, Use Magic Device: +7

 

 **FEATS  
** Natural Sheild: +3 AC to self, +1 AC to party members

Intelligent: +5 INT

The Power of Justice: +10 attack, 1D8+5 damage. Miss: ½ WIS

The Red Glare: +6 attack, 1D6+5 damage. Miss: roll for Intimidate, vs WILL, 1D6 damage

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Canekind  
Bladekind  
Detect Evil: At will spell  
Divine Grace: Gains a bonus equal to CHA bonus on all saving throws  
Lay on Hands: Heal wounds once per day  
Aura of Courage: Immune to fear  
Divine Health: Immune to diseases  
Mercy  
Channel Positive Energy  
Spells

 

 **SPELLS  
** **Level 1** :  
Bless: Allies gain +1 on attack rolls and saves against fear  
Detect Poison: Detects poison in one creature or small object  
Detect Undead: Reveals undead within 60ft  
Divine Favor: You gain +1 per three levels on attack and damage rolls  
Magic Weapon: Weapon gains a +1 bonus  
Resistance: Subject gains +1 on saving throws

 **Level 2** :  
Shield Other: You take half of subject's damage  
Bull's Strength: Subject gains +4 to STR for 1 min/level  
Eagle's Spleder: Subject gains +4 to CHA for 1 min/level  
Zone of Truth: Subjects within range cannot lie

 **Level 3** :  
Discern Lies: Reveals deliberate falsehoods  
Magic Weapon, Greater: Weapon gains +1 bonus/four levels (max +5)  
Prayer: Allies get +1 bonus on most rolls, enemies -1 penalty

 **Level 4** :  
Dispel Evil: +4 bonus against attacks by evil creatures  
Holy Sword: Weapon becomes +5, deals 2d6 damage against evil  
Death Ward: Grants bonuses against death spells and negative energy

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 220  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 41,341,341  
 **Boonbucks** : 8  
 **Booncase** : 0  
 **Boonbond** : 0

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Spear Cane: There is a sword concealed in your cane >;] 

Neophyte Redglare: Stylish cherry red sunglasses to conceal your blind eyes.

Knight Light: Really, it’s just a flashlight attached to your headband.

Cute Shoulder Dragon: A bright red dragon plush that sits on your shoulder.

Iphone: You should never leave your house without your phone

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

Pyralspite: A hand sewn dragon plush. White with red eyes.

413 pieces of Chocolate: 413 pieces of Chocolate. (WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE 413 PIECES OF CHOCOLATE IN YOUR SYLLADEX???)

Journal: Vantera’s not the only one who walks around with a journal in their Sylladex

Inkpen: So that you can write, obviously

Candy Cane: You just really like candy canes, OKAY?!

Pool Stick: A pool stick stolen from the lounge.

 

 

~SERKA~ _Thief of Light_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Serka Vaight  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Neutral  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Thief of Light

 **Class** : Thief  
 **Aspect** : Light  
 **Echeladder** : Spider Bitch (88)  
 **Godtier** : Thief of Light (0)

 **Gender** : Female  
 **Eyes** : Blue  
 **Hair** : Black  
 **Size** : Medium  
 **Height** : 5’8.5”  
 **Weight** : 118

 **Homeland** : St. Paul, Minnesota  
 **Languages** : English  
 **Vision** : Eightfold, Light

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 53  
 **Die Roll** : 1d8

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 30  
 **Touch AC** : 18  
 **Flat-footed** : 26

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 16 (+3)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 20 (+5)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 30 Ft  
 **Fly** : 30 Ft

 **Initiative** : +10

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 17  
 **Reflex** : 16  
 **Will** : 18

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 26  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 16  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 10  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 30  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 44

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Dagger of Treachery: +8 attack, 1D8 damage  
Special Attacks:

Boomdagger: +4 attack, 1D6 damage  
Special Attacks:

 

 **ARMOR  
** Cloak of Obscurity: +4 armor class

 

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +10, Bluff: +14, Diplomacy: +10 Disable Device: +8, Escape Artist: +8, Intimidate: +14, Knowledge: Dungeoneering: +8, Knowledge: History: +8, Knowledge: Nature: +8, Perception: +14, Sense Motive: +8, Stealth: +14, Survival: +8

 **Untrained** : Appraise: +4, Climb: +4, Disguise: +6, Fly: +6, Handle Animal: +5, Heal: +4, Knowledge: Arcana: +4, Knowledge: Engineering: +4, Knowledge: Geography: +4, Knowledge: Local: +5, Knowledge: Nobility: +5, Knowledge: Planes: +4, Knowledge: Religion: +4, Linguistics: +4, Ride: +4, Sleight of Hand: +4, Spellcraft: +5, Swim: +4, Use Magic Device: +8

 

 **FEATS  
** Semi-Final Strike: Any one item has 3 times the attack bonus than it usually has for 3 rounds

Poisoned...: +2 to any weapon

Loaded Die: Daily power. After rolling the die, change it to something of your choice

Backstabbing: Encounter power. Sneak up behind them and stab them in the back, +8 attack

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Dicekind  
Bladekind  
Sneak Attack  
Trapfinding: Adds 1/2 level to perception checks on traps  
Evasion: Avoid magical and unseen attacks with great agility  
Trap Sense: +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps  
Uncanny Dodge: You can react to danger before your senses would normally allow you to do so  
Improved Uncanny Dodge: Can no longer be flanked  
Master Strike

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 110  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 88,888,888  
 **Boonbucks** : 8  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Boomdagger: It’s a dagger, shaped like a boomerang!

Dagger of Treachery:

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

IPhone 5: A really snazzy cellphone ::::)

Magic 8 Ball: You like to have a bunch of these ready for use (YEAH, CAUSE YOU BREAK THEM ALL THE TIME)

Broken Magic 8 Ball: It’s faster and easier to just stick the pieces in your sylladex

Cloak of Obscurity:

 

 

~AMPRO~ _Prince of Hope_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Ampro Enrique Roan  
 **Alignment** : Lawful Evil  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Prince of Hope

 **Class** : Prince  
 **Aspect** : Hope  
 **Echeladder** : White Scientist (74)  
 **Godtier** : Prince of Hope (0)

 **Gender** : Male  
 **Eyes** : Violet  
 **Hair** : Black  
 **Size** : Large  
 **Height** : 6’2”  
 **Weight** : 145 lbs

 **Homeland** : Miami, Hawaii  
 **Languages** : English  
 **Vision** : Normal

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 44  
 **Die Roll** : 1d6

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 30  
 **Touch AC** : 20  
 **Flat-footed** : 26

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 16 (+3)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 15 (+2)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 50 Ft  
 **Fly** : 40 Ft

 **Initiative** : +8

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 13  
 **Reflex** : 9  
 **Will** : 14

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 24  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 9  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 18  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 28  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 42

 

 **WEAPONS  
** The Elder Wand: +7 attack, x2 critical (20), 1d10+3 damage  
Special Attacks: White Science, Not My Daughter You Bitch!

 

 **ARMOR  
** Pointy Hat of Power: +3 AC, +3 attack  
Gold Bling: +2 AC

 

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Appraise: +8, Bluff: +6, Craft: Wands: +10, Diplomacy: +6, Disable Device: +9, Fly: +10, Intimidate: +1, Knowledge: Arcana: +10, Knowledge: History: +8, Knowledge: Nobility: +9, Knowledge: Religion: +8, Profession: Pirate: +7, Sense Motive: +7, Spellcraft: +10, Swim: +11, Use Magic Device: +7

 **Untrained** : Acrobatics: +4, Climb: +3, Disguise: +2, Escape Artist: +4, Handle Animal: +2, Heal: +3, Linguistics: +4, Perception: +3, Ride: +4, Sleight of Hand: +4, Stealth: +4, Survival: +3

 

 **FEATS  
** Charm Spell: Daily power. Charm any one monster instead of fighting.

Chosen One: Encounter power. Extreme power boost, +20 attack

Destroyer of Hope: Hope blast does 1d10 damage to everyone in the vicinity

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Wandkind  
Gunkind  
Spells  
Arcane Bond  
Cantrips  
Scribe Scroll  
Bonus Feats  
Spellbooks

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 15  
 **GP** : 150  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 9,413,612  
 **Boonbucks** : 4  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Pointy Hat of Power: A really cool wizard’s hat you use for your Harry Potter cosplay

The Elder Wand: One of the three Hallows, the strongest wand in existence

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

IPhone 6: The latest and greatest model. It’s REELLY expensive.

Gold Bling: A shitton of gold jewelry

Freezing Explosive Potion: See? You can totally do science! (yeah… this is totally a failed experiment)

Hot Pepper Sauce: Just some hot pepper sauce to put on your food. You like things spicy.

Royal Oil:

Sleep Potion:

 

~PEIX~ _Witch of Life_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Peix Fiona Roan  
 **Alignment** : True Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Witch of Life

 **Class** : Witch  
 **Aspect** : Life  
 **Echeladder** : The Little Mermaid (83)  
 **Godtier** : Witch of Life (0)

 **Gender** : Female  
 **Eyes** : Tyrian Pink  
 **Hair** : Black  
 **Size** : Medium  
 **Height** : 5’9”  
 **Weight** : 140 lbs

 **Homeland** : Miami, Hawaii  
 **Languages** : English, Spanish  
 **Vision** : Normal

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 81  
 **Die Roll** : 1d8

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 30  
 **Touch AC** : 20  
 **Flat-footed** : 26

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 20 (+5)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 50 Ft  
 **Fly** : 30 Ft

 **Initiative** : +5

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 18  
 **Reflex** : 12  
 **Will** : 18

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 21  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 11  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 5  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 25  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 39

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Barbeque Fork: +9 attack, x2 critical (20), 1d10+3 damage  
Special Attacks: Stick ‘Em With The Pointy End

 

 **ARMOR  
** Chainmail Bikini: +3 AC  
Gold Bling: +2 AC

 

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +8, Climb: +8, Diplomacy: +10, Fly: +10, Handle Animal: +11, Heal: +14, Knowledge: Arcana: +9, Knowledge: Geography: +9, Knowledge: Nature: +9, Linguistics: +5, Perception: +8, Ride: +8, Sense Motive: +7, Spellcraft: +10, Survival: +7, Swim: +10

 **Untrained** : Appraise: +4, Bluff: +6, Disable Device: +4, Disguise: +5, Escape Artist: +4, Intimidate: +5, Sleight of Hand: +4, Stealth: +4, Use Magic Device: +5

 

 **FEATS  
** Empathy: Improve the attitude of a person

Healing Touch: Touch heals others, 1d10 HP restored

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Tridentkind  
Spells  
Spontaneous Casting  
Orisons  
Bonus Languages  
Nature Sense: +2 on Nature and Survival checks  
Wild Empathy: Improve the attitude of an animal  
Trackless Step: Leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked  
Venom Immunity: Immunity to all poisons  
A Thousand Faces: Change appearance at will  
Timeless Body

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 19  
 **GP** : 110  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 10,413,612  
 **Boonbucks** : 5  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Barbeque Fork: A really sharp, really long barbeque fork that you can poke things with!

Chainmail Bikini: A really sexy chainmail bikini. You like to look your best, even in armor.

Gold Bling: A shitton of gold jewelry

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

IPhone 6: The latest and greatest model. It’s REELLY expensive.

Cute Outfits: All your favorite outfits. It pays to have these things in your sylladex. You never know when you might have to change!

 

 

~CAPTOR~ _Mage of Doom_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Captor Soul  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Mage of Doom

 **Class** : Mage  
 **Aspect** : Doom  
 **Echeladder** : ATH Minded (90)  
 **Godtier** : Mage of Doom (0)

 **Gender** : Male  
 **Eyes** : One Blue, One Red  
 **Hair** : Light Brown  
 **Size** : Large  
 **Height** : 6’  
 **Weight** : 140 lbs

 **Homeland** : Beatrice, Nebraska  
 **Languages** : English  
 **Vision** : Normal / Lowlight

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 68  
 **Die Roll** : 1d8

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 30  
 **Touch AC** : 19  
 **Flat-footed** : 26

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 16 (+3)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 15 (+2)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 20 Ft  
 **Fly** : 50 Ft

 **Initiative** : +5

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 14  
 **Reflex** : 11  
 **Will** : 13

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 22  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 10  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 16  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 26  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 40

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Throwing Stars: +12 attack, x3 critical (18-20), 1d10+5 damage  
Special Attacks: Trigger Happy

Huge Rock: +6 attack, x2 critical (17-20), 1d6+4 damage  
Special Attacks:

 

 **ARMOR  
** Bad-Ass Bandana: +3 AC  
3D Glasses: +3 AC

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +10, Bluff: +6, Craft: Throwing Stars: +9, Fly: +12, Intimidate: +7, Knowledge: Arcana: +11, Knowledge: Dungeoneering: +10, Knowledge: Engineering: +14, Knowledge: History: +10, Perception: +8, Sense Motive: +8, Spellcraft: +11, Survival: +8, Use Magic Device: +7

 **Untrained** : Appraise: +5, Climb: +3, Diplomacy: +2, Disable Device: +4, Disguise: +2, Escape Artist: +4, Handle Andimal: +2, Heal: +4, Linguistics: +5, Ride: +4, Sleight of Hand: +4, Stealth: +4, Swim: +3

 

 **FEATS  
** Psiionics: Telekinetic powers add +10 to STR mod, +15 attack, +3 to Fly, +3 AC

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Shruikenkind  
Spells  
Arcane Pool  
Spell Combat, Improved Spell Combat  
Spellstrike  
Magus Arcana  
Spell Recall: Recall spells already cast  
Knowledge Pool  
Counterstrike: When an enemy successfully casts a spell defensively, they provoke an attack of opportunity  
True Magus: Master of spells and combat

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 150  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 10,413,612  
 **Boonbucks** : 6  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Throwing Stars: A shitton of shruiken that are really sharp and really dangerous

Huge Rock: A huge rock capable of crushing you if it fell on you

Bad-Ass Bandana: Red and blue bandana that you wear around your neck and makes you look super badass.

3D Glasses: Glasses with one red lens and one blue for your bi-colored eyes.

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

Hard Drive: A back up for all the files on your laptop

Back-up Hard Drive: A back up for your back up hard drive

Printer: You like being able to print things no matter where you are

Blackberry Cellphone:

ATH manual: You don’t even use this anymore

Viral Glasses: Alchemized from 3D Glasses and Laptop. Gives you access to the internet

 

 

~MEGIDA~ _Maid of Time_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Megida Aran  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Maid of Time

 **Class** : Maid  
 **Aspect** : Time  
 **Echeladder** : Apocalypse Arisen (80)  
 **Godtier** : Maid of Time (0)

 **Gender** : Female  
 **Eyes** : Red-Brown  
 **Hair** : Dark Brown  
 **Size** : Small  
 **Height** : 5’6”  
 **Weight** : 120 lbs

 **Homeland** : Lincoln, Nebraska  
 **Languages** : English  
 **Vision** : Normal / Lowlight

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 75  
 **Die Roll** : 1d8

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 31  
 **Touch AC** : 19  
 **Flat-footed** : 26

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 16 (+3)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** :  
 **Fly** : 30 Ft

 **Initiative** : +5

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 16  
 **Reflex** : 16  
 **Will** : 15

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 20  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 9  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 13  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 23  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 38

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Huge Rock: +6 attack, x2 critical (17-20), 1d6+5 damage  
Special Attacks:

 

 **ARMOR  
** Scary False Teeth: +1 AC, +1 attack  
Sandals of Protection: +2 AC  
Stopwatch: +4 AC, +4 attack

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +10, Bluff: +7, Climb: +8, Diplomacy: +8, Disguise: +7, Escape Artist: +9, Fly: +10, Heal: +9, Knowledge: Arcana: +10, Knowledge: Dungeoneering: +10, Knowledge: Geography: +9, Knowledge: History: +9, Knowledge: Nature: +9, Perception: +9, Sleight of Hand: +9, Spellcraft: +10, Stealth: +10, Survival: +5

 **Untrained** : Appraise: +4, Disable Device: +5, Handle Animal: +3, Intimidate: +8, Ride: +5, Sense Motive: +4, Swim: +4, Use Magic Device: +3

 

 **FEATS  
** Crunching For Time: After completing your turn of attack, skip directly to the player of your choice and continue round from there.

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Whipkind  
Hide in Plain Sight: Use stealth skill even while being observed  
Evasion: If exposed to any effect that normally allows a reflex save for half damage, you take no damage for a successful save  
Darkvision: Gains darkvision out to a range of 60ft  
Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge  
Shadow Illusion: Create visual illusions  
Summon Shadow: Can summon a shadow, undead shade  
Shadow Call: Can create creatures and effects out of raw shadow  
Shadow Jump: Travel between shadows as a means of dimension door spell  
Defensive Roll: Avoid a lethal blow once per day  
Slippery Mind: Resilient to enchantment spells  
Shadow Power: Use raw shadow to damage foes  
Shadow Master: Whenever in an area of dim light, gain DR 10/ - and a +2 luck bonus on all saving throws

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 70  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 10,000,000  
 **Boonbucks** : 10  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Huge Rock: A huge rock that could crush you if it fell on you

Scary False Teeth: Fake vampire teeth that you got at a Halloween party

Sandals of Protection: Black sandals with straps that criss-cross all the way up to your knees

Stopwatch: A red stopwatch

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

Cellphone:

IPod: You use this to drown out the voices of the dead.

 

 

~LEZHA~ _Rogue of Heart_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Lezha Neptune  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Rogue of Heart

 **Class** : Rogue  
 **Aspect** : Heart  
 **Echeladder** : Arsenic Catnip (33)  
 **Godtier** : Rogue of Heart (0)

 **Gender** : Female  
 **Eyes** : Olive Green  
 **Hair** : Light Brown  
 **Size** : Small  
 **Height** : 5’3”  
 **Weight** : 100 lbs

 **Homeland** : Lincoln, Nebraska  
 **Languages** : English  
 **Vision** : Normal / Lowlight

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 63  
 **Die Roll** : 1d10

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 33  
 **Touch AC** : 23  
 **Flat-footed** : 28

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 16 (+3)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 17 (+3)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 40 Ft  
 **Swim** : 30 Ft  
 **Fly** : 30 Ft

 **Initiative** : +9

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 15  
 **Reflex** : 16  
 **Will** : 14

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 20  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 16  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 9  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 24  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 39

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Claw Gloves: +10 attack, x2 critical (20), 1d8+5 damage  
Special Attacks:

 

 **ARMOR  
** Cat Hat: +2 AC  
Cat Paws: +2 AC  
Cat Tail: +1 AC

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +10, Bluff: +7, Climb: +10, Diplomacy: +4, Disguise: +6, Escape Artist: +10, Handle Animal: +12, Knowledge: Dungeoneering: +9, Knowledge: Geography: +9, Knowledge: Nature: +10, Perception: +14, Ride: +10, Sense Motive: +9, Stealth: +11, Survival: +8, Swim: +9

 **Untrained** : Appraise: +3, Disable Device: +5, Fly: +7, Heal: +4, Intimidate: +3, Linguistics: +3, Sleight of Hand: +5, Spellcraft: +3, Use Magic Device: +3

 

 **FEATS  
** Wild Shape: Gains the ability to turn into any small or medium animal and back again once per day

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Clawkind  
Favored Enemy: Gain +2 bonus on bluff, knowledge, perception, sense motive, and survival checks against favored enemy  
Track: Add half level to survival skill checks made to follow tracks  
Wild Empathy: Improve initial attitude of animal  
Combat Style Feat  
Endurance  
Favored Terrain: Gains +2 on initiative checks and knowledge, perception, stealth, and survival checks in favored terrain  
Hunter's Bond: Taco  
Woodland Stride  
Swift Tracker: Move at normal speed while using survival to follow tracks  
Evasion: Avoid magical and unusual attacks with great agility  
Quarry, Improved Quarry  
Camouflage: Use stealth skill to hide in any favored terrains  
Hide in Plain Sight: While in favored terrains, you can use stealth even when being observed  
Master Hunter

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 150  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 333,333  
 **Boonbucks** : 33  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Claw Gloves: Zahhak made these for your Nepeta cosplay

Cat Hat: Blue cat-hat

Cat Paws: Blue gloves with cat paw pads on the fingertips and palms

Cat Tail: Blue cat tail

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

IPhone:

IPad: You like having this around so you can draw whenever you want

 

 

~ZAHHAK~ _Heir of Void_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Zahhak Equinox  
 **Alignment** : Lawful Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Heir of Void

 **Class** : Heir  
 **Aspect** : Void  
 **Echeladder** : Fist O’ Fury (67)  
 **Godtier** : Heir of Void (0)

 **Gender** : Male  
 **Eyes** : Blue  
 **Hair** : Black  
 **Size** : Large  
 **Height** : 6’9”  
 **Weight** : 210 lbs

 **Homeland** : Omaha, Nebraska  
 **Languages** : English  
 **Vision** : Normal

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 61  
 **Die Roll** : 1d8

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 30  
 **Touch AC** : 20  
 **Flat-footed** : 27

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 22 (+6)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 16 (+3)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 15 (+2)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 30 Ft  
 **Fly** : 20 Ft

 **Initiative** : +6

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 15  
 **Reflex** : 11  
 **Will** : 12

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 24  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 17  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 7  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 31  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 44

 

** WEAPONS **

 

 **ARMOR  
** Goggles: +2 AC

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +14, Appraise: +6, Climb: +10, Craft: Robbots: +9, Craft: Machines: +9, Diplomacy: +7, Disable Device: +8, Escape Artist: +7, Handle Animal: +6, Intimidate: +8, Knowledge: Engineering: +9, Knowledge: History: +8, Knowledge: Nobility: +8, Knowledge: Religion: +7, Perception: +8, Ride: +9, Sense Motive: +8, Stealth: +7, Survival: +8, Swim: +12, Use Magic Device: +4

 **Untrained** : Bluff: +2, Disguise: +2, Fly: +5, Heal: +3, Linguistics: +3, Sleight of Hand: +3, Spellcraft: +3

 

 **FEATS  
** Fist O Fury: Smash enemies to a pulp, +14 attack, x3 critical (20), 1d10+5 damage

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Fistkind

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 210  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 10,100,001  
 **Boonbucks** : 1  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Goggles: Work goggles to protect your eyes while you work

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

IPhone:

 

 

~NIGHT~ _Page of Breath_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Night Tauros  
 **Alignment** : True Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Page of Breath

 **Class** : Page  
 **Aspect** : Breath  
 **Echeladder** : Adios Toreador (76)  
 **Godtier** : Page of Breath (0)

 **Gender** : Male  
 **Eyes** : Brown  
 **Hair** : Brown  
 **Size** : Medium  
 **Height** : 5’9”  
 **Weight** : 125 lbs

 **Homeland** : Minneapolis, Minnesota  
 **Languages** : English  
 **Vision** : Normal

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 69  
 **Die Roll** : 1d8

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 30  
 **Touch AC** : 19  
 **Flat-footed** : 28

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 15 (+2)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 17 (+3)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 20 (+5)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** :  
 **Fly** : 40 Ft

 **Initiative** : +5

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 13  
 **Reflex** : 10  
 **Will** : 16

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 20  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 13  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 12  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 25  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 37

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Jousting Lance: +11 attack, x2 critical (20), 1d10+6 damage  
Special Attacks: Wheelchair Joust

Eleven-foot Pole: +5 attack, 1d10+3 damage  
Special Attacks:

 

 **ARMOR  
** Wheelchair: +3 AC  
Horny Helmet: +2 AC

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Climb: +9, Craft: Lances: +9, Diplomacy: +11, Fly: +10, Handle Animal: +11, Knowledge: Arcana: +9, Knowledge: Dungeoneering: +9, Knowledge: Nature: +8, Linguistics: +8, Perception: +7, Ride: +8, Spellcraft: +10, Survival: +8, Swim: +6, Use Magic Device: +10

 **Untrained** : Acrobatics: +2, Appraise: +4, Bluff: +5, Disable Device: +2, Disguise: +5, Escape Artist: +2, Heal: +4, Intimidate: +5, Sense Motive: +4, Sleight of Hand: +2, Stealth: +2

 

 **FEATS  
** The Windy Thing:

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Lancekind

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 90  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 10,413,612  
 **Boonbucks** :  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Jousting Lance:

Eleven-foot Pole: An eleven-foot pole that actually works pretty well as a lance

Wheelchair: Its actually your back-up wheelchair in case your regular one breaks

Horny Helmet: A helmet for one of your Tavros cosplay outfits

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

Cellphone:

 

 

~MARYAM~ _Slyph of Space_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Maryam Kyana  
 **Alignment** : True Good  
 **Race** : Human  
 **Deity** : Slyph of Space

 **Class** : Slyph  
 **Aspect** : Space  
 **Echeladder** : Mother of Monsters (91)  
 **Godtier** : Slyph of Space (0)

 **Gender** : Female  
 **Eyes** : Jade Green  
 **Hair** : Black  
 **Size** : Large  
 **Height** : 6’  
 **Weight** : 140 lbs

 **Homeland** : Scottsbluff, Nebraska  
 **Languages** : English, Chinese  
 **Vision** : Normal

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 56  
 **Die Roll** : 1d6

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 31  
 **Touch AC** : 22  
 **Flat-footed** : 27

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 18 (+4)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 20 (+5)  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 19 (+4)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 30 Ft  
 **Fly** : 40 Ft

 **Initiative** : +7

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 16  
 **Reflex** : 18  
 **Will** : 14

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 22  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 16  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 8  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 27  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 41

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Broad Sword: +10 attack, x2 critical (18-20), 1d10+5 damage  
Special Attacks:

 

 **ARMOR  
** Scary False Teeth: +1 AC, +1 attack

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Acrobatics: +9, Climb: +8, Craft: Clothing: +10, Diplomacy: +9, Fly: +11, Handle Animal: +6, Heal: +10, Intimidate: +8, Knowledge: Arcana: +10, Knowledge: History: +9, Knowledge: Nature: +9, Perception: +10, Sense Motive: +8, Spellcraft: +11, Stealth: +8, Use Magic Device: +8

 **Untrained** : Appraise: +5, Bluff: +4, Disable Device: +4, Disguise: +4, Escape Artist: +4, Linguistics: +5, Ride: +4, Sleight of Hand: +4, Survival: +4, Swim: +4

 

** FEATS **

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Bladekind

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 0  
 **SP** : 0  
 **GP** : 120  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** : 10,413,612  
 **Boonbucks** :  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Broad Sword:

Scary False Teeth: Fake vampire teeth you used for Halloween a couple times

Laptop: You should never walk around without at least 5 computers on you at all times (where are the other 4 then???)

IPhone:

Hubtop: Alchemized using a Stylish Headband and Laptop

Lipstick: Jade green and black lipstick

Cute Outfits: A variety of stylish outfits. You never know when you might have to change clothes

Sewing Kit: You never know when you could need to patch something up or make some new outfits

 

 

~LORD ENGLISH~ _Lord of Time_

 **BASIC STATISTICS  
** **Name** : Caliborn “Lord English”  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Evil  
 **Race** : Cherub  
 **Deity** :

 **Class** : Lord  
 **Aspect** : Time  
 **Echeladder** : Timeline Destroyer (200)  
 **Godtier** : Lord of Time (50)

 **Gender** : Male  
 **Eyes** : Red  
 **Hair** : Bald  
 **Size** : Extra Large  
 **Height** : 8’11”  
 **Weight** : 400 lbs

 **Homeland** : Desolate Earth  
 **Languages** :  
 **Vision** : Lowlight / No light

 

 **Hit Points [HP]** : 108  
 **Die Roll** : 1d8

 **Armor Class [AC]** : 37  
 **Touch AC** : 24  
 **Flat-footed** : 33

 

 **ABILITIES  
** **Strength [STR]** : 30 (+10)  
 **Dexterity [DEX]** : 19 (+4)  
 **Constitution [CON]** : 21 (+5)  
 **Intelligence [INT]** : 11  
 **Wisdom [WIS]** : 14 (+2)  
 **Charisma [CHA]** : 14 (+2)

 **Speed  
** **Base Speed** : 30 Ft  
 **Swim** : 10 Ft  
 **Fly** : 30 Ft

 **Initiative** : +12

 **Saving Throws  
** **Fortitude** : 21  
 **Reflex** : 8  
 **Will** : 19

 **Base Attack Bonus [BAB]** : 26  
 **Basic Melee Attack** : 21  
 **Basic Ranged Attack** : 19  
 **Combat Maneuver Bonus [CMB]** : 37  
 **Combat Maneuver Defense [CMD]** : 51

 

 **WEAPONS  
** Golden Cuestaff: +10 attack, x2 critical (18-20), 1d10+5 damage  
Special Attacks: Down With the Clown, Powers of the Green Sun

Golden Assault Rifle: +10 attack, x2 critical (18-20), 1d10+5 damage  
Special Attacks: Unnecessary Shoot-Down, Gunning the Clown, Powers of the Green Sun

Black Staff: +9 attack, x2 critical (18-20), 1d10+5 damage  
Special Attacks: Down With the Clown

Black Rifle: +9 attack, x2 critical (18-20), 1d10+5 damage  
Special Attacks: Unnecessary Shoot-Down, Gunning the Clown

Crowbar’s Crowbar: +7 attack, x2 critical (17-20), 1d8+5 damage  
Special Attacks: Down With the Clown

Minigun: +14 attack, x3 critical (20), 1d10+10 damage  
Special Attacks: Unnecessary Shoot-Down, Gunning the Clown

 

 **ARMOR  
** Cairo Overcoat: +5 AC

 

 **SKILLS  
** **Trained** : Bluff: +8, Climb: +13, Disguise: +8, Escape Artist: +11, Heal: +6, Intimidate: +12, Knowledge: Arcana: +8, Knowledge: History: +5, Knowledge: Religion: +8, Linguistics: +7, Perception: +3, Sense Motive: +4, Spellcraft: +8, Stealth: +5, Survival: +7, Swim: +13, Use Magic Device: +6

 **Untrained** : Acrobatics: +4, Appraise: +0, Diplomacy: +2, Disable Device: +4, Fly: +4, Handle Animal: +2, Ride: +4, Sleight of Hand: +4

 

** FEATS **

 

 **SPECIAL SKILLS/TRAITS  
** Gunkind  
Canekind  
Spells per day/Spells Known  
Inspired Necromancy  
Lich's Touch  
Unholy Fortitude  
Undead Manipulator  
Negative Energy Conduit  
Death's Shroud  
Negative Energy Affinity  
Secrets of Death  
Undeath Initiate

 

** SPELLS **

 

 **MONEY  
** **CP** : 11  
 **SP** : 8  
 **GP** : 400  
 **PP** : 0

 **Boondollars  
** **Coins** :  
 **Boonbucks** :  
 **Booncase** :   
 **Boonbond** :

 **Grist** :  
 **Amber** :  
 **Amethyst** :  
 **Artifact** :  
 **Caulk** :  
 **Chalk** :  
 **Cobalt** :  
 **Diamond** :  
 **Garnet** :  
 **Gold** :  
 **Iodine** :  
 **Marble** :  
 **Mercury** :  
 **Quartz** :  
 **Ruby** :  
 **Rust** :  
 **Shale** :  
 **Sulfur** :  
 **Tar** :  
 **Uranium** :  
 **Zillium** :

 

 **SYLLADEX  
** Cairo Overcoat:

Golden Cuestaff:

Golden Assault Rifle:

Black Staff:

Black Rifle:

Backup Coat:

Crowbar's Crowbar:

Die's Voodoo Doll:

Fire Extinguisher:

Eggtimer:

Minigun:

15 Quarters: Used to summon various members of the Felt Crew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOG I FORGOT HOW MANY *GREAT* REFERENCES WERE IN THAT CHAPTER L-O-FUCKING-L XDD. What did you think? Like I said before, if you have any questions, just ask! I don't bite and I promise I'm not scary! Also, I love it when people comment on my work, it makes me feel special :33
> 
> Next update will be Friday August 1st! I'll be coming home from Vacation that day, so the update might not be until late in the evening. We'll just have to wait and see.


	17. Act 3: L3T TH3 G4M3 B3G1N

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 3 chapters are written with Pyra's (Terezi's alternate reality self) typing quirk, and focus on the preparation for the inevitable battle against Lord English.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I'm back! And with a brand new chapter for you! Sorry this one's kind of short, but its more of a prologue to act 3 anyways. 
> 
> E N J O Y !

**Act 3: L3T TH3 G4M3 B3G1N**

Lord English stood in, as far as he was concerned, the middle of fucking nowhere. He had stationed himself in some mountains, where he could look out over this world he yearned to destroy. If not for the fact that he still hadn’t gotten rid of those damn kids, he _would_ have destroyed it by now.

But he couldn’t indulge himself just yet. There were his enemies to be dealt with first, and the pesky humans they had taken refuge with.

When Caliborn had opened a rift between these worlds, he had actually expected to land somewhere that was devoid of life. That he hadn’t had thrown him a little off track. If he drew too much attention to himself before dealing with his enemies, it could cause some serious complications for him later. On top of that, Lord English had not accounted for the possibility that he would also lose his Godtier powers upon entering the new universe. He had known that his enemies would, but it had just seemed so beneath him that he hadn’t thought to lump himself in with them. He had gotten a serious chiding from his servant for that mistake. So Lord English had fled upon first landing, much to his utter distaste.

That was how he had gotten to these mountains, far enough away from civilization to avoid detection. He had set up his base there, and ordered his servant to use her ship to make a map of the land for him. He needed to know where his enemies were at all times.

It turned out that he was actually a lot farther from them than he had expected. He had made quick work of the land and ended up about two states over, according to the Condesce. Gog-fucking-damnit civilized worlds were so confusing.

Now that he was used to the new world’s rules, however, Lord English was confident that he could take on his enemies. He was a Lord of fucking Time for fuck’s sake. There just wasn’t anyone powerful enough to stand in his way.

And, if things got bad, he always had access to his minions, who had taken to calling themselves the ‘Felt’. He wasn’t sure why.

Before opening the rift that sucked everyone through to the new universe, Caliborn had travelled through countless timeless, gathering as many of his minions as he could find, and keeping them inside his grandfather clock to be called on when he needed them. He had a good dozen of each of them, if not more.

Yeah. He was totally prepared for anything.

Not that he would need it. Lord English was confident that he would be able to go to wherever the fuck his enemies were and wipe both them and their accomplices out without a problem. After all, they didn’t have their powers anymore, and they were all weak and pathetic humans and trolls. Lord English was one hundred times more powerful than all of them combined at _least_. He was probably even stronger than that. He knew he wouldn’t have any trouble when it came time to fight them.

But he should probably do it soon. The more time he wasted just sitting around brought them all closer to the day both his and his enemies’ powers would return.

Caliborn could still easily defeat them even with their powers, but it brought unnecessary complications to the battle. Many of which were the _possibility_ that they might defeat him. They wouldn’t, of course, but his servant was forever reminding him that it was still a possibility.

So Lord English had decided to destroy them all while their powers were still adjusting to the new world, giving them absolutely no chance of survival. It was the perfect plan; a foolproof plan.

Nothing could go wrong.

What Caliborn didn’t know was just how _wrong_ he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? I wanted to give a little insight on what Caliborn's been doing and why since they all landed in this world. I know I kinda suck at writing Caliborn. He's hard!
> 
> Anyways, this is the last chapter I had written before hand, so hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up and ready for the next update! I've been working on it, but with so many other stories going on at the same time, I haven't had much time. Oh well, the next update is the last one of the summer and then I should have more time once school starts (What kind of fucked up world do I live in??) Speaking of the next update, I will be updating Friday August 15. See you then!


End file.
